


The Revengers? More like Loki protection squad 2k18

by floralhearts



Series: Infinity War Fix-It (aka fuck you thanos) [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Loki and Val don’t know how to talk about their feelings but they’re trying their best, Panic Attacks, Past Torture, Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Protective Bruce Banner, Protective Hulk (Marvel), Protective Team, Protective Thor (Marvel), Protective Valkyrie, Team Bonding, Team as Family, Touch Starved Loki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2019-05-20 01:35:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 25,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14885129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floralhearts/pseuds/floralhearts
Summary: “Why do you do that?” Thor asked, long after everyone else had cleared the meeting room.“Why do I do what?” She asked, clearly bored. She had her feet up on the table and a bottle in hand.“Stare at my brother.”(alternatively, the one where the revengers become family)





	1. Valkyrie and Thor talk abt their resident greasy slut

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Ik Thor Ragnarok hype is over but lmao i'll never get over it i love it sm, anyways I've been really excited about writing this for sometime! It's going to be part of series that leads into infinity war, but an infinity war fix-it bc fuck u thanos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Ik Thor Ragnarok hype is over but lmao i'll never get over it i love it sm, anyways I've been really excited about writing this for sometime! It's going to be part of series that leads into infinity war, but an infinity war fix-it bc fuck u thanos

It started with grudging tolerance.

And while that may not seem like anything special, it was definitely a compliment coming from the angrier two of the Revengers. Loki and Valkyrie both did not play well with others. That, was a known fact. So seeing that Valkyrie managed to not want to murder Loki at all times, and that Loki didn’t feel the need to stab her at every turn, it was a good start.

Course they weren’t anything close to friends yet. 

_“Where is he?” Valkyrie cried, poking her head into Thor and Loki’s room and looking around angrily. Thor looked up at her._

_“Who?”_

_“Your bastard of a brother! I’m going to kill him!” She snarled, and before Thor could even ask why, she had disappeared from the doorway and the loud sound of her footsteps were clamoring down the halls. All that could be heard next was a surprised cry and the sound of swords sheathing._

Yes they definitely weren’t friends yet.

But there was also something weird about the two of them, Thor noticed. They hadn’t been in space for that long, but Thor could still see something was going on. 

Whenever Loki wasn’t looking, Valkyrie would stare. Not in a longing way, not in an angry way. No, the look on her face was one of someone who might have been watching a child, or their lab experiment. Whenever she watched his brother, she always looked as if she was studying him, watching his every move, and Thor wished to know why.

“Why do you do that?” Thor asked, long after everyone else had cleared the meeting room. 

“Why do I do what?” She asked, clearly bored. She had her feet up on the table and a bottle in hand. 

“Stare at my brother.” Thor clarified, looking at her with a strange look on his face. She tossed her head back and took a giant swig from the bottle.

“I don’t stare at your brother.” She shot back. The god sighed. “Yes you do, I see you staring, no point in lying Val.”

“So you stare at me then?” She said, one eyebrow raised smugly. Thor grumbled slightly. “No topic changing.”

She didn’t answer. Thor felt a slight bit of annoyance as she stayed strong, not answering him. The silence continued for some time before she spoke, not looking at him.

“Your brother afraid of a lot of things?” She asked. Thor looked over confusedly and noticed the way her head was dipping. She was _very_ drunk. _Good, maybe I’ll actually get answers from her,_ He thought and then felt slightly bad.

“What?”

“Lackey,” She waved her hand around in the air, “Is he afraid of a lot of things?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” Thor said, mostly because he didn’t want to answer. He knew what Loki was afraid of when they were kids, loud noises, being alone, being left behind, but now? Thor wasn’t sure he’d be able to answer Valkyrie’s question. She sighed and her shoulders slumped.

“When I found your brother,” She started, still not looking at Thor. “On Sakaar, he was… different.” She said hesitantly. Thor’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“It was like he wasn’t even there… he was… hyperventilating, and he looked terrified.” She explained, the alcohol in her system causing her voice to slur. Thor nodded slowly, concern etched into his face.

“Panic Attack.” He blurted out, and she turned to him with a confused look.

“That’s what the Midgardians call it.” He explained. She nodded and took a swig from her bottle.

“Call it whatever you want but something triggered it.” She slurred. “He was muttering things too. I thought he was crazy.”

Thor felt even more concern bubble in his chest. “What was he saying?”

“Something about cold, space, falling, I don’t know.” She waved her hand around as if she didn’t care. Thor felt his stomach clench. The void. Loki had been speaking of the void. But he couldn’t think about what had triggered him- Thor’s brow furrowed as realization settled over him. Hela had thrown Loki through space. 

“So what did you do?” Thor asked, and immediately saw her turn away from him. She remained silent and Thor wondered what she could have possibly done. 

“I brought him to the grandmaster.” She replied, still avoiding his gaze. “I expected him to just become another cleaner or such but… but the grandmaster he… he _really_ liked your brother.”

“I still don’t understand why you stare at him.” He blurted out, watching her carefully. 

“Because!” She cried angrily, throwing her arms up in the air. She then lowered her voice to almost a whisper.“Because the grandmaster doesn’t play nice.”

And it suddenly made sense to Thor. He made a noise of understanding. “You feel responsible.” He noted. She sighed loudly, swishing the little remaining alcohol in the huge bottle.

“If it was any other fucker, I wouldn’t care. But now that I live with him, he just seems so _real_. Everything’s always been about the units. The people I give in don’t feel real. They’re just units. And that’s how I imagined Lackey, just a couple more units. But now that I see him every single day all I can see are the little things that make him real. Like the way he plays with his hands when he’s anxious. Or how he has different smiles reserved for different people.” She said, and Thor realized just how much this had been bugging her, “And because he’s so much more real, what I did is so much more real. I found him when he was vulnerable, when he was weak, and I exploited him and gave him in to a sick fuck who didn’t give a jotun’s ass about him.”

Thor remained silent. He wasn’t mad at Valkyrie, no. She had given him in as well. He was just deep in thought. Should he be mad a her? He couldn’t tell. _Obviously, this has been bugging her a lot. And she’s not a bad person, she just did what she had to, to survive on that trash planet anyways._ He thought to himself.

“I don’t think he holds any grudge towards you for that.” He replied softly, after quite some time. 

“Me neither,” She admitted, “Doesn’t make the guilt go away though.” She waved her bottle in the air and took a final sip, finishing it. Dropping it much like she had on sakaar, she smiled and rose to her feet.

“Looks like I’m all done, see ya around sparky.” She patted his shoulder on her way out, leaving Thor with his thoughts.

+++

Things weren’t different after their talk, Thor knew they wouldn’t be. He hadn’t expected a change, all he wanted was information. 

But now, as they sat together, eating their rations and chatting idly, Thor saw something he hadn’t before, the very beginning of a friendship. He smiled to himself. The revengers were slowly, _slowly_ , becoming a team.


	2. Green bean man/Scientist has a discussion with Dumb gay bitch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce talks to Loki and for some reason there's a nagging in the back of his head

Bruce was a good guy.

Or at least, that’s what he liked to think. He always offered his transit seat to other people, always held the door open, no matter how far away the next person was, and always tipped the waiter extra. Sure those were little things, but Bruce always tried his best to be the best version of himself. That’s why this particular thing bugged him so much.

Loki was good at hiding things. The Revengers had noticed that not long after they embarked on their space journey. Loki could hide pretty much anything, but one thing he could not hide, was his fear of Bruce. Well, more of the Hulk _and_ Bruce. No matter how hard Loki would try, he couldn’t mask the way he would flinch violently when Bruce moved too fast, or when the Hulk entered a room suddenly. 

And of course Loki had a good reason for being afraid of him, he knew that, but Bruce also had a good reason for doing what he did. Loki had been the ringleader of an invasion, The Hulk had just been doing what he did best. And of course Loki still had every reason to be afraid, but Bruce was just wondering when it would stop. They had been living together for quite some time now, and if he were to be honest, it was starting to put him on edge too.

He thought back to what had happened only a few days prior.

_Bruce had just entered the meeting room, not exactly anticipating the morning's meeting. As he entered, he noticed there was only one seat left, and it was next to Loki. Said god seemed to be spacing out, his eyes were unfocused and he was tapping the table rhythmically. Carefully, Bruce seated himself and awaited the start of the meeting._

_When Loki finally snapped out of whatever funk he had been in, he noticed the scientist beside him. Almost instantly the god flinched, looking as though he feared punishment. Taking a breath or two, the god recollected himself and sat ramrod straight._

_“Sorry about that…” Bruce muttered awkwardly. Loki shook his head. “The apology is all mine, Banner.”_

_With that, Loki went back to staring ahead, tapping the table much quicker._

Bruce sighed. He really hoped Loki would grow accustomed to him soon. 

_“Puny God scared of you.”_ The Hulk rumbled inside his mind. If Bruce could glare at the monster in his head he would have.  
“No, he’s afraid of _you_.” Bruce shot back, “And don’t call him Puny god, it’s rude.”

 _“Tiny god.”_ The Hulk retorted. Bruce sighed once more, he’d take what he could get.

xxx

There was a soft knocking at his door. Loki stopped momentarily to think about who could possibly be at the door. It obviously wasn’t Thor, they shared this room and even if they hadn’t, Thor was never one for knocking. Valkyrie never truly seeked him out, and if she were to, it would be a much louder knocking. Heimdall had a firm and certain knock, very different to this one. That left one person. Loki narrowed his eyes.

“Come in…” He said hesitantly. The door slowly opened and Loki felt himself tense. He felt stupid, he knew it was Bruce, but the moment he saw the scientist he felt on edge. Loki closed the book on his fingers, to keep his place. Bruce looked at him with a strange smile on his face. “Thor isn’t here.” Loki spoke, eyeing Bruce wearily. The scientist chuckled awkwardly.

“Uh, that’s probably a good thing. I came here to talk to you.” Bruce replied quietly, looking as if he wanted to leave. Loki didn’t like that. Not at all. 

“What is it exactly you wanted to talk about?” The god asked, then gestured towards Thor’s bed, “Sit down.” Bruce nodded and swallowed thickly, moving towards the bed. 

They sat in an uncomfortable silence, Bruce bouncing his leg anxiously and Loki _really_ wanting to go back to his book.

“You’re afraid of me.” Bruce blurted out, and Loki took a sharp intake of breath. He closed his eyes.

“You’re not wrong.” He replied, trying to think of how to respond. “You’re also not entirely right.”

“You’re also afraid of the big guy.” The scientist elaborated. “With good reason, I mean.”

Loki nodded. “That’s true. But I assure you it’s nothing big. It’s not an issue.”

“Maybe not for you,” Bruce started, “but it is for me. I’m used to people being afraid of me, I’m literally an unpredictable green rage monster, but no one I’ve ever had to live with has been this scared of me.” 

Loki turned his head and avoided eye contact with Bruce, and the scientist had to wonder when _he_ stopped being afraid of _Loki_ and it became the other way around. “If it is an issue for you, then I’ll do my best to stop er… flinching… around you.”

Bruce sighed. “No Loki, I want to know what _I_ can do. You can’t just stop being afraid of something.”

Loki nodded. “Then what do you propose?” Bruce sighed once more. “I was asking _you_.”

Loki scowled, “I’m aware, but I don’t quite know what you could do. It’s just… I’m not afraid of you… I’m afraid of-” Loki cut himself off and looked away. 

It was in this moment that Bruce noticed just how different Loki looked. When the god had attacked New York, he had been sharp, if that made any sense. His eyes were a piercing blue, his hair had almost looked like a christmas tree, what with how pointy it was, and just about every aspect of him had been… sharp. But now, Loki looked almost soft. It helped that he no longer wore the helmet, but there were other things about him too. Loki’s eyes were softer around the edges, more tired, but still softer. And his hair, still _very_ unkempt, but it wasn’t sharp anymore. It somehow looked softer. Bruce wondered when that had happened. It made him much less intimidating as well.

“You’re afraid of?” Bruce asked, pushing Loki to continue. And the minute Loki seemed to gain some sort of vulnerability, he immediately lost it. The god went rigid and he narrowed his eyes at Bruce.

“I don’t need to explain myself to you, Banner” He hissed, and Bruce noticed he went back to calling him by his last name. “In fact,” Loki said, raising his hand, “I don’t think you should be in here at all!” He spat, flicking his wrist towards the door. The scientist suddenly felt something wash over him. And before he knew it, he was getting up and walking towards the door and out of it. 

The door slammed shut behind him and he felt Loki’s magic wash away. “Huh.” He said plainly, and then continued walking down the hallway, mind full of jumbled thoughts.

The second time Bruce approached, he tried from a different angle.

“Alright,” Bruce declared, sitting down beside Loki and staring at him. The god, despite trying to ignore him, shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. He growled angrily and shut his book.

“Alright what?” He snapped.

“Last time we got nowhere because you got cold feet.” He stated, “This time you’re going to talk to me without kicking me out after two minutes.”

Loki narrowed his eyes, “Alright then. What do you want from me?” 

Bruce felt like strangling the god, though he knew that wouldn’t go over well. He was just so closed off, it was like he had a hundred different walls built up and Bruce was going through them one by one. 

“I want to address the fact that you’re scared of me, and I want to do something about it.” He replied. Loki flicked his eyes over to something on a shelf.

“Well we already established the fact that I fear a mortal during our last discussion, so if you wish to further shame my name that’s _definitely_ fine by me.” Loki said, looking quite annoyed.

“Oh my god Loki,” Bruce sighed, “It’s not embarrassing for you to be afraid of me. I literally slammed you into the floor. I _Hurt_ you.” Bruce tried to reason with the god.

“ _You_ ” Loki said pointedly, “Did no such thing. I do recall learning that you and your green friend are very different people, so in all honesty, there’s no reason for you to be here, seeing as I’m afraid of him, not you.” Loki quipped. Bruce threw his hands in the air.

“Alright then, I guess I could just bring the big guy out. He’d love that.” Bruce said nonchalantly. 

There. The moment Bruce mentioned the Hulk Loki froze. His grip around his book tightened and his eyes widened slightly. Not too big of a reaction, but for Loki, it definitely was.

“See?” Bruce gestured, “I’m a much better option. Now explain to me what scares you about the Hulk. I’ve been around you long enough to know that you getting the shit beat out of you isn’t too rare. So what in particular about you and Hulk’s encounter is so different?”

Loki swallowed thickly. “It brings back… memories. Ones that I’d prefer to forget.” He said quietly. Bruce blinked confusedly.

“No offense, but you’ve kind of had a bad time all around for a while now. Why are those memories so special? Is it because we beat you?” The scientist asked. 

For a moment Loki looked lost in his thoughts, a stricken look on his face. It vanished as quick as it had appeared. Loki raised his hand, and Bruce felt a wave of magic begin to wash over him. But then Loki’s hand stopped, and Bruce felt the magic leave. Loki dropped his hand and sighed.

“One might say I was having a particularly bad time. Though, none of it really had to do with me losing. I could’ve cared less whether your planet was enslaved or not.” The god laughed dryly, and suddenly Bruce felt like he had gotten involved with something he shouldn’t have. Loki obviously had a lot going on.

“But you wanted to rule it, wouldn’t you care about winning?” Bruce asked. 

Too far. Loki bit his lip and looked down at his hand. “That was an excellent conversation we had Bruce, but I’m afraid it’s time for you to leave,” He said softly, opening the door with his magic and whisking Bruce out into the hallway. 

xxx

Bruce couldn’t stop thinking about the conversation he and Loki had. It was so strange. Everything he thought he might have known about Loki had pretty much entirely changed after just two conversations. 

So, doing the only rational thing he could think of, he went to Thor.

It was warm in the throne room/main deck. Bruce had noticed that despite the ship being slightly cold, wherever Thor was, the ship was warmer. The god of thunder was sitting in the chair, looking out into space with a strange look on his face.

“Thor?” Bruce called, and the god turned. He smiled brightly the moment he saw the scientist.

“Bruce! What brings you here?” He asked, eyes alight with joy.

“I wanted to talk.” 

Thor nodded. “About what?”

“About L- About your brother.”

Thor’s expression changed to that of an unreadable one. He nodded once more, “Go on.”

“Uh,” Bruce hadn’t really thought about what he was going to say. “What was he like when you guys were kids?” 

Thor’s mood immediately lifted. He chuckled. “He was very different from myself. I was a warrior, of course, and the firstborn, so we had about two centuries in between us. Of course we were noticeably different. Loki was born much too thin and with hair darker than the night, and I was born strong and able, with hair gold as the palace. I always did worry for him, he was very small you see, and still is.” Bruce nodded, trying to hold on to as much information as possible. “It might have been our differences that brought us so close together. Loki was very much like my other half. Together we were an excellent team. He was intelligent and rational, and could make every good decision that my foolish bravery could not.” Thor laughed. 

Bruce knew he had to ask the question that would undoubtedly make Thor’s mood plummet.

“You said he was like a different person during the invasion?” Bruce asked, and of course, Thor’s expression became solemn. 

“Aye,” He nodded slowly, “T’was like I was fighting a stranger in my brother’s body. Though not entirely.”

“How so?”

“Loki has always been angry. It’s something he and I both inherited from growing up with Odin. So his anger, when attacking Midgard, was not different. But what made this version of him different, was his intent on ruling. Loki had not once in our childhood cared about ruling. He always said to me, ‘Thor, when you become King, and I become advisor, we’re going to change Asgard into something marvelous.’ So it truly made no sense to me where all this need to rule Midgard came from.” Thor explained.

The scientist nodded once more. That was probably about as much information as Thor cpuld give him.

“Thank you Thor.” Bruce said, standing up to leave. 

“Friend Bruce?” Thor called, and the scientist turned around.

“What is the center around your newfound interest in my brother?”

“I’m just trying to figure something out.” He smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk how to write characters in character fjdnf whoops ;(


	3. Valkryie isn't a detective you all just can't see what's right in front of you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valkyrie finds out more about Loki Thor and Bruce's history together

“What’s up big guy?” Valkyrie asked, taking a swig from the bottle at the bar counter. The Hulk lumbered over towards her taking a seat on the stool that surprising held its own underneath his weight. He grumbled slightly.

“Banner being weird.” He replied gruffly. 

“What, is he trying to turn back early?” She joked. She knew that Bruce respected their agreement. They alternated in between weeks. That was the only way Banner could convince the Hulk to give him back control. The Hulk shook his head.

“Talking lots to tiny god.”

“Who?” She furrowed her brow.

“Puny god. Banner say puny god rude. Now Hulk call him tiny god.” He replied. Valkyrie stifled a laugh. But then she thought about it. Loki actually _was_ awfully tiny. Very thin and gawky. It would have been concerning, if she cared.

“Oh yeah? Why’s Banner been talking to him so much?” 

“Tiny god in space is different tiny god from earth.” He huffed. She looked at him confusedly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Tiny god not as evil.” The Hulk answered. She felt her slight interest in the topic grow more and more as Hulk continued to speak. Or maybe that was just the alcohol.

A few questions did surface in her mind though. Lackey had been on midgard? It did make sense though, Banner was from Midgard and that was most likely why he’d known Loki from before.

“Do you know what Banner wanted from Loki?” She asked. Hulk smashed his fist on the counter.

“No more Banner talk! It’s Hulk time!” He roared. She nodded her head, raising her hands in a peaceful manner, “Alright, alright.”

Guess she’d just have to wait until it was Banner’s turn. Not that she cared or anything, definitely not. She just didn’t like being kept in the dark.

xxx

A few days later, it was Bruce who joined them in the dining hall for breakfast and not the Hulk. 

Val knew she’d probably get answers very easily. Banner and her were friends and it didn’t seem like a very guarded subject.

“So,” She said, plopping herself down beside the scientist, who was sitting in his room, “You, Thor, and Lackey have history. I want details.”

He looked at her for a moment, before shrugging slightly. He figured she’d ask eventually. “Okay, well what do you want to know?”

“Everything,” She decided, “I don’t like not knowing things.” 

Bruce nodded again, “Okay.”

“Now I don’t actually know all the details that happened before earth with Thor and Loki, but I get the gist of it I think.” He explained, and Val motioned for him to continue, “Loki tried to kill himself I’m pretty sure-”

“What? How?” Not even a sentence in and she was already confused. 

“Uh he was dangling from the Bifrost and he just, let go.” The scientist explained. Valkyrie nodded slowly, slightly troubled by the fact. Only slightly, of course. The void was sickening just to look at, she couldn’t imagine falling through it.

“And then the next thing we know he’s popped up on earth and he’s trying to steal the tesseract. Definitely making a scene everywhere he goes too. He drew a lot of attention to himself. But basically there was a team and I was on it. Well I guess technically I’m still on the team. Anyways, on the team there was Thor, Me, and four other people. Tony Stark, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, and Steve Rogers. And the team came together to stop Loki. Cause his plan was to take over earth and everything. And he used this scepter to control Clint’s mind. Anyways long story short the Hulk beat him to a pulp, that’s why Loki’s afraid of him, and we sent him to Asgard to be punished or something I’m not really sure.”

Valkyrie nodded, taking in what he had just said. Honestly, most of what he explained made no sense for multiple reasons and the whole story was really rushed.

“Why’d he try to off himself?”

“No idea.”

She nodded again. Maybe Thor would be better to ask after all, Bruce seemed to be missing a lot of information.

“So why’d he do it?”

“Do what?”

“Invade earth.”

“So he could rule it and so he could steal the tesseract.”

“That’s stupid.”

“What? Why?”

“I’ve known Lackey for, what? A month? And even I see how unlike him that is.” She stated plainly. Bruce gave her a look. Not one of annoyance or dismay, but of intrigue. She decided to elaborate.

“On Sakaar, Loki was obviously only trying to survive. And sure by the time Thor got there he was planning on overthrowing the grandmaster but obviously it wasn’t cause he wanted to rule.” She explained, and Bruce gave her a confused look. “He didn’t give a damn about all that ruling shit, but you should have seen the way he looked at the slaves. He definitely wanted to set them free. But he’s like a cockroach, and doing something like that would be the opposite of a smart move, so the smarter move would be to become the new leader. Besides he definitely extended the offer of ruling together to his brother. That was like Lackey’s weird way of trying to make peace with Thor.”

“My point is, why the fuck would Loki invade earth like that? He doesn’t care about ruling so obviously that’s not a reason. Plus like you said, he drew all that attention to himself. Definitely not a survivors move and definitely not a Lackey move. He would have chosen to slowly take over all of your realms leaders until by the time he had complete control, you would have realized much too late and there would be nothing you could do to stop him. Or something like that.” She waved her hand hastily.

“So obviously he made it really easy for you to beat him, which is kind of funny. And honestly he has no reason to take the tesseract of all things. What the fuck would he even do with it? It just makes zero sense however you look at it. That’s all.” She finished. Bruce looked at her with an expression much like the one he had adorned on Sakaar when he first met Loki.

“So I guess you’re really good at analysing people?” He said, watching her as she rose to her feet and walked to the door.

“Valkyrie training and all.” She replied, stepping out into the hall, “Thanks for telling me all that shit by the way!”

She shook her head as she walked down the corridor, it wasn’t like she had made some profound observation, she had just stated the obvious.

xxx

“Hey Thor,” She said, stepping into the throne room. The King looked up at the sound of her voice and grinned, “Hello Val.” He waved. 

She walked over to the throne, “What’s Quiggin?” She asked, sitting down on the arm rest. He gave her a strange look.

“What’s that mean?” He questioned. 

“It’s a Sakaarian reference.” She supplied, “Means what’s going on, sort of.”

“Ah,” Thor nodded, “Earth has a saying like that too, I believe. Stark and Barton would always ask me ‘What’s crackalackin’.” He said, endearment clear in his tone. He smiled at the thought of his team on earth. He wondered what the had been up to since he had been gone.

“Hm,” Valkyrie hummed in response. 

“So what brings you to the throne room? You haven’t finished off all the alcohol have you?” He joked. She grinned and pushed him.

“Course not idiot,” She replied, “I came to talk about your brother.”

“You know, Bruce came to me wanting the same thing. You’re not planning a joint murder are you? ‘Cause I know he caused you both grief but-”

“No no!” She swatted at his arm. “I don’t think Bruce would wanna do that. _Now the Hulk_ , he’d probably love to kill you brother-” She let out a cry of alarm as Thor shoved her off the throne, grinning wildly. 

She rose to her feet and sat once again upon the arm rest, seemingly unbothered. Thor finished chuckling and his expression went back to that of a man who was thinking.

“So what about Loki?” He asked. 

“Why the fuck did he try and kill himself,” She blurted out, and Thor’s eyes widened slightly.

“Shit sorry,” She started, but Thor chuckled. “No no, it’s fine. I suppose Bruce was the one who told you that. Smart of you to come to me seeing as he doesn’t know much. Why did you come to me though?” He asked, “I mean, why’re you so interested?”

“I don’t like being kept in the dark,” She stated, “You three all have all this drama and I want in.”

Thor laughed, of course that was why she’d want to know.

“Well I guess the answer to your question is a bit complicated. It started when I was banished, you see.”

“You were banished?”

“Yes don’t interrupt.” He said and she swatted at his arm. 

“Anyways, frost giants had infiltrated Asgard on the day of my coronation. They were after the casket. We stopped them, obviously, but I was younger and much more foolish. Me, my friends and Loki all snuck into Jotunheim to wage war upon the Jotuns. Obviously that didn’t go too well and Odin ended up having to save us all. Then me and him were yelling at each other and Loki was kind of just standing there all uncomfortable. So Odin banished me to earth without my powers. But in the meantime, Loki somehow found out he was a frost giant-”

“He’s a _what_.”

“Frost giant. Well I know he isn’t giant but that’s because he’s a runt. Laufey’s son.” Brunnhilde’s eyes widened at the mention of the king, “But because he grew up in a realm where all we did was slander the Jotun name, it was really hard for Loki to come to terms with. And Loki tried to destroy all of Jotunheim with the Bifrost. But while that was happening, I returned to Asgard and managed to stop the attack by breaking the bifrost. And of course, me smashing the damn thing made it blow up. So we both went flying into the air, but Odin caught us. He grabbed my leg and Loki grabbed the staff that I was holding. And we were both dangling from the remnants of the bifrost when Loki starts yelling stuff. And I can’t hear what it is but the Odin says something and Loki just… He gets this look on his face. And just… Lets go.”

Brunnhilde nods, trying to grasp what really happened. That was some fucked up story. “So then he showed up on earth?”

“Essentially yes,” Thor supplied. Things were starting to piece together in her mind and she didn’t feel as left out as before. 

“Thanks sparky.” 

xxx

It was weeks later and the Revengers were just the same. Still bickering like crazy. Of course most of the fighting was Loki and Val, but Thor and Loki had their moments. 

“And we’ll need to continue to thin out our rations- Brother are you even listening?” Thor said looking across the table at Loki who was absentmindedly tapping the table and looking out into space. They were in one of the weekly meeting based upon rations, water supply, etc. 

“Of course,” Loki said, not taking his eyes off the stars. 

“Loki,” Thor grumbled. 

“I’m listening,” Loki said, turning to look Thor in the eyes, a sickeningly sweet and fake smile painted on his lips. 

“Your highness’s,” Heimdall cleared his throat. Thor spared one last glance to his brother, who was now glaring daggers, and continued.

“Right. So I’ve asked Bruce here to work on a way to generate water, but because of the Hulk and his alternating weeks, it will take longer…” 

For the rest of the meeting, Loki was pretty much somewhere else. Mind distant but body ever present in that cursed room. _Why’s there even a window in this stupid room? Who needs to see the fucking stars all the time?_ He thought annoyedly. 

“So,” Thor said, snapping Loki from his thoughts, “Does anyone have any questions?”

“Uh, I do,” Said a man with a mop of brown hair that was tied back. His piercing blue eyes put Loki on edge. 

“Yes, what’s your name sir?”

“Mikkel, you highness.” He replied, an aloof smile on his face. 

“What’s your question?”

“What are we going to do about the Mad Titan?”

Loki froze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS SO SHORT SORRY


	4. Idk how to properly pace a story whOops

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shit goes down but don't worry, loki's still the universe's biggest bitch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> apologies for thsi shiTty chapter idk what the fuck i'm doing

“What are we going to do about the Mad Titan?”

None of the Revengers missed the way Loki stiffened. The god’s eyes went wide and his whole body froze.

“I’m sorry, who?”

“The Mad Titan.” Mikkel repeated, “Surely you’ve heard of him. Almighty Thanos, conqueror of realms.”

“And why is he a problem?” Thor asked, not taking his eyes of his brother. 

“Well you know what’s happening, do you not?” Mikkel asked, a confused look upon his face.

“No, I’m afraid I do not. Please, do inform me.”

“Thanos is searching the stars for the infinity stones. He’ll kill anyone in his way. Whether they mean him harm or not, he’ll kill them without a doubt. Meaning he’ll kill us the second he sees our ship.”

The only sound in the room was the rather prudish looking man clearing his throat and Loki’s laboured breathing. Valkyrie and Bruce looked over at the god of mischief. 

His eyes were wide and unfocused and his rhythmic tapping upon the table had become faster and erratic. Valkyrie shot a glance towards her king. _Wrap this shit up_. She mouthed to him.

“Right uh, that’s not really in our control-” He saw ice beginning to spread beneath Loki’s hands. Multiple people began to notice. “- uh, there isn’t really anything we can do to prevent it, but if luck’s on our side then we should be just fine-”

Thor was interrupted as multiple spikes of ice protruded from around his brother. Valkyrie managed to back away just in time to avoid being impaled. “Holy shit!”

“Everyone out!” Heimdall ordered, ushering the board members out the door until only Bruce, Thor, Val and Loki remained. He looked to Thor as if to say, _I’m counting on you to fix this_ before leaving the room.

“Loki!” Thor cried, trying to get close to his brother. At the cry of his name, the ice surrounding Loki’s shaking form stretched out farther. “No,” He whispered.

“Loki-” Thor started,

“ _No!_ ” Loki cried, a wave of magic pulsating out and pushing the three revengers up against the wall. The next thing they knew the magic was inside their minds and everything went dark.

__

_You’re falling._

_You’re falling._

_You’re falling and it’s cold. It’s so unbelievably cold. It shouldn’t be this cold, you’re a Jotun. You should be fine._

_You should be fine but you’re not. You’re not fine. You’re cold and everything hurts. EverythinghurtsEverythinghurtsEverythinghurts._

_You call out for help but no one comes. Nobody cares. You call out again._

_Help me._

_Please._

_Help me Help me Help me Help me Help me Help me._

_No one helps you._

_You’re alone. Alone. Alone. Alone._

_And then, you crash. You crash and you die. You’re dead. And somehow being dead hurts more than being alive._

_But then you open your eyes. You open your eyes and there’s a figure. He says his name is Thanos and that he brought you back from the dead. He tells you you’re safe. And you believe him. You live safe for sometime. Long enough for you to learn to trust this ‘Thanos’._

_And then he asks you to invade earth. You politely decline, there’s nothing for you to gain from killing innocents besides guilt._

_That angers Thanos._

_You’re in a cell. You’re in a cell and everything hurts. Your hands are coated in blood and your face is wet with tears. Your hands shake and your head throbs. Help me Help me Help me Help me Help me Help me Help me Help me._

_No one helps you._

_They continue to torture you. At this point you refuse to give in just out of spite. You don’t care about earth but you sure as hell don’t want to do anything to please Thanos. Thanos can rot in Hel._

_It seems you’re the one that’s rotting in Hel._

_The torture gets worse. They hardly give you breaks anymore. They laugh at your screams. And finally,_

_You break._

“Fuck,” Valkyrie gasped, rocketing into a sitting position. Beside her Bruce rolled over and coughed loudly. “Oh my god,” He whispered.

“Thor what the _Fuck_ ,” Valkyrie panted, rising to her feet.

“Oh my god.” Bruce repeated again, “Thor were those _his memories_? Was that the Mad Titan? Oh god, how did I _feel that_ ,” Bruce questioned a million words per minute, staring at his shaking hands

Thor remained quiet, staring at his now unconscious brother. 

“I mean, I had suspicions that something had happened,” Bruce let out a nervous laugh and ran a hand through his hair, “but _that_ , oh my god.”

“ _Fuck,_ ” Brunnhilde repeated once more. She suddenly felt some of her anger towards Loki dissipate. Well, he was still a bitch in almost every way, but it was a little hard to dislike him so strongly after that.

“Norns Lackey,” She said, staring at his pale unmoving form. She was going to need one hell of a drink.

Carefully, she picked him up. She stumbled slightly backwards as he was much lighter than she initially assumed. “Fuck when was the last time he ate?” Obviously no one answered her.

“This is a good thing right?” Bruce asked, and it seemed that snapped Thor from his trance. He looked over at Bruce with a borderline angry stare. 

“No not like that Thor,” The scientist clarified, “I mean that this means he’s innocent, er- not innocent but not-as-guilty? I mean, he still did what he did but it’s not as bad.”

“He’s right,” Brunnhilde nodded. Thor looked back at his brother, 

“We should take him back to his room,” The king said softly. Val nodded and brushed a couple stray hairs away from his face. 

xxx

When Loki awoke, he noticed that he was in a bed. _His_ bed. 

“Sup Lackey,” Someone said, and Loki immediately knew it was the Valkyrie. He turned his head to find her sitting on Thor’s bed, bottle in hand obviously. 

“What happened?” He asked, sitting up. She took a large swig from her bottle. 

“You freaked out, we accidentally got inside your head.” She shrugged nonchalantly, swishing around the alcohol. Loki froze.

“You what?”

“Your magic hit us and we saw your memories I think.” She replied, still calm as ever. Maybe not calm, perhaps she just didn’t care. 

“And by we you mean,”

“Bruce, your brother and I.”

“I see…” He said, staring at her wearily. “What exactly did you see-”

“Probably things you didn’t want us to see.” She quipped. Loki grumbled slightly at how vague she was being.

“If you could just tell me which memories you saw-”

“We saw the void,” She interrupted, feeling slightly bad when Loki flinched, “We saw the void and what happened after. Everything up until Midgard. _Felt_ it too.” She said, taking another sip from the bottle and shivering. The experience had been pretty scarring, whether she wanted to admit it or not. 

“Oh,” He nodded numbly. “Alright.”

There was a sad silence afterwards, and Brunnhilde started to regret being so cold.

“You good?”

“I don’t need your pity.” He replied stiffly. She almost got angry, almost snapped at him for being so snippy, then remembered he did have a pretty good reason for being a bitch.

“It’s not pity dipshit. If what happened to you happened to me I probably wouldn’t be holding myself together as well as you are.” She commented. He let out a dry laugh. 

“So if it isn’t pity then what? You suddenly like me because I was tortured?” He spat and she almost flinched at how violently he said it. Almost.

“No Lackey, I don’t like you. But I don’t hate you. So stop being such a whiny bitch and answer my god damn question.”

“I’m fine.” He replied quietly after a brief silence. She gave him a look that told him she wasn’t believing any of his bullshit as she stood to leave.

“Anyways I’m just er- checking up on you to make sure you aren’t dying. It’s what’s teammates do, and you are a Revenger Lackey, despite what a complete bitch you are” She said. She left through the door but not before seeing the small smile on Loki’s face. 

Maybe being part of the Revengers wasn’t as shitty as she thought.

xxx

Being part of the Revengers was _exactly_ as shitty as she thought it would be and fucking worse.

“What the fuck are you two doing?”

“They’re brawling like animals.” Loki said flatly from the sideline of the ‘gym’. Essentially, it was an empty room where Thor and Hulk could beat the shit out of each other.

“I know what brawling is, Lackey, but this isn’t even brawling. It’s just repeated punching.” She said, watching her two friends roll around the room.

“Well what else would you describe brawling as? It’s barbaric.” Loki replied, obviously unimpressed.

“Brawling is not barbaric, _this_ is barbaric. Actual fighting has fluid motions, it has meaning and the opponents need to think about their next move and the person they’re fighting’s next move. These two just keep punching each other and don’t care about the other’s fighting style.”

“Hey!” Thor cried, raising his head to glare at the two watching only to have his face grabbed by a giant green hand and shoved down. 

“Why are you being so grumpy anyways?” She asked, looking down at the pessimistic god. 

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m always ‘grumpy’.” He replied, still watching the two fight. She grinned.

“You don’t like fighting huh? Why cause you always lost back on Asgard?” She teased. Loki glared at her. 

“I did not _always_ lose.” He replied, hitting her in the shin. 

“Yes you did!” Thor cried from the middle of his fight. Valkyrie laughed.

“Only because I couldn’t use my magic and everyone was so much larger than me!” He cried indignantly. Valkyrie laughed harder. Loki glared and went back to ignoring her. 

“Aw c’mon Lackey, I bet you’re better now. I mean you’re still little and shit but, you did okay against me on Sakaar… up until you decided to be a dick.”

“You two fought on Sakaar?” Thor asked, right before punching Hulk’s stomach.

“Multiple times.” Valkyrie nodded. 

“Well who won?”

“We don’t need to discuss that.” Loki grumbled. Thor laughed and Brunnhilde grinned. 

“Pay attention!” Hulk cried, throwing Thor into the wall. The god laughed harder. “Okay, Okay.”

Yeah, Val fucking hated her team, but they weren’t the _worst_

“Watch out!” Thor cried as he flew through the air, giving her just enough time to avoid being smashed into.

Yeah nevermind, her team was the fucking worst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow fun! this sucks!


	5. Someone help this highkey stressed deity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stress? Hahaha who's she? Loki doesn't know her
> 
>  
> 
> the real question is,,, what's he stressed abt ;((

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> surprise!! A whole new chapter much before the 12th! Anyways I rewrote this so many times and idk what to do abt it bc it rlly isn't turning out the way I want it to :(((((

“Sup Lackey?” Valkyrie asked, plopping herself down beside the god. He looked over at her, pale green eyes looking into her own.

“Sup?” He repeated with a raised brow, finger keeping his place in a rather large book. The cover was a deep red with golden detailing. She couldn’t see the title but assumed it was something boring.

“Yeah it’s midgardian slang. Means what’s up, I’m pretty sure.” She replied.

“You know midgardian slang?” He asked sceptically.

“Of course I do,” She shot back. Loki turned back to his book, seemingly done with their conversation already, “Right.”

“I do!” She bristled.

“Bruce obviously told you that.” He said, not taking his eyes off of the pages. They looked worse for wear, it was most likely an old book. Fitting of him, to pick something old and boring.

“I’ve been to midgard Lackey,” She grumbled. He closed the book once more to look at her, closing it upon his finger once more.

“Yes, but that was millennia ago, before I was even born, and humans did not talk like that at that time.” He replied matter of factly. Gods, she hated him sometimes.

Instead of trying to fight him, because maybe _maybe_ , he was right, she changed the subject,

“Oh that’s right, I’m much older than you aren’t I?” She said, devious smile upon her face. He looked as if he’d tasted something sour.

“You’re not _that_ much older than me,” He bristled. 

“I was a maiden before you were even born,” She countered, “I’m pretty sure that makes me a lot older than you.”

“Why are you here?” He asked flatly, changing the subject.

“Bruce is working on the water generator and Thor is off doing kingly things and I got kicked out of the bar,” She replied nonchalantly.

“So you have no one else to bug?” 

“Nope.”

“Alright then, you have fun,” Loki said, reopening his book. She looked over his shoulder and tried to read some of the words. It was definitely not fiction. Needless to say, it was boring.

And after a few minutes of silence,

“Do you think you brother has a thing for Bruce?” She asked.

“And good day to you,” Loki said quickly, waving his hand towards the door.

Valkyrie felt the magic pushing her out the room and heard the door slam shut behind her.

“Rude.”

xxx

“Hi Loki,” Bruce said, rather awkwardly. He fumbled with a small piece of the water generator as he ate his breakfast. The breakfast hall was relatively empty and Brunnhilde and Thor had yet to arrive.

“Hello Bruce,” Loki replied, sitting down with a small cup of tea. He sat closer now than ever, just across the table from the scientist. 

Over the past few weeks Loki’s fear of Bruce had slowly diminished. It had taken some time, but as the small spark that was their “friendship” grew, Loki’s fear of Bruce had grown smaller and smaller. But even more surprising, was Loki’s ability to coexist with the Hulk. Somewhere along the line, Bruce wasn’t sure where, Loki had finally realized that Hulk meant him no harm. It took quite a while, but eventually, Loki was able to even talk to the beast. Something no one had thought possible at the start of their journey. It made Bruce rather happy to see the god slowly becoming closer to them. 

Bruce had always been sentimental, so it was no wonder he felt bad for the god after venturing through his mind. In Bruce’s eyes, what he had seen was enough to redeem the god. Loki _did_ have a pretty good excuse. And it was rather amazing Loki had lasted as long as he did anyways. It was amazing what a person would agree to whilst being tortured. Course, everyone would have different opinions, and Bruce wasn’t sure how they’d react when they actually got to earth, but Loki wasn’t evil, that much was obvious, he just… wasn’t good either. Sure he might not be a valiant hero, but the more time the scientist spent with him, the more he realized the god was just… withdrawn. Not bad nor good. A neutral player in the game of life.

Loki kept to himself, why, Bruce knew not. There could be a number of reasons why Loki chose to distance himself from others. It could be a habit from his childhood. Thor had told him much about how Loki was treated on Asgard. Sure it wasn’t abuse, but neglect could deal a considerable amount of trauma if severe enough. And internalized racism so severe that he attempted suicide… yeah that wasn’t exactly healthy for the mind.

It could have also been because of what Thanos had done to him. The Titan had drawn him in, earned his trust, and then used it to break him. More than that, the Titan had played with Loki’s mind, his very being. Bruce still had nightmares about what he had seen, what he had _felt_ , in Loki’s mind. How the god managed to stay in one piece was beyond him.

Either way, Bruce was just glad to see that they were slowly earning the God’s trust. Somehow, the Revengers were actually… functional.

“Is that all you’re having?” Bruce nodded towards the cup of tea. Loki looked down. The small cup was decorated with little roses and detailed in gold. Steam floated up and out of the mug in little wisps.

“Yes,” He nodded, “I’m not particularly hungry this morning.” 

Bruce pursed his lips, looking at the prince. Loki was already underweight, he didn’t need to skip meals. God or not, Bruce knew what underweight looked like, and Loki was a prime example. His cheekbones were easily visible through his sickly white skin and despite wearing many layers of clothing, Bruce still saw his ribs when he stood. And he didn’t like it one bit.

“Are you sure?” He asked, “There’s enough rations for everyone, and I mean, you’re a prince so there’s definitely enough rations for you-”

“I’m sure.” Loki bit out, cutting him off. Ah yes, Loki’s general stubbornness and coldness to everyone around him, how could Bruce have forgotten. He stared at Loki for a good few seconds before backing down. He was never good at persuading people.

Silently, he prayed that Valkyrie or Thor would be able to make the sickly prince eat. Because he obviously wouldn’t on his own.

xxx

It happened while the Hulk and Thor were fighting, well, brawling as they put it. 

With a final blow, Thor knocked the Hulk to the ground. The thunderer pushed him into the floor and held him down, counting to ten through gritted teeth.

“Yes!” Thor cried jumping into the air and throwing up his arms, “I won!”

The Hulk grumbled and shoved him away as he laughed.

“Hey high and mighty,” Valkyrie called, grin upon her face, “ It’s my turn,” 

The thunderer laughed at her as he ‘swatted’ away the Hulk’s punches.

“Why don’t you fight Loki?” Thor joked.

They both laughed, remembering just how much Loki disliked most fighting

“How does that sound Loki?” Thor teased, turning towards his brother who had been watching boredly from the sidelines. He also had seemed rather quiet, no snarky remarks or bored groans. 

The minute Thor saw his brother, his face fell.

“Loki?” Thor asked, eyes wide and concern evident in his features. Valkyrie turned her head almost instantly.

The god in question was leaning against the wall. His skin was almost translucent under the light and his eyes were half lidded. His head was dipping slightly and he looked as if he were to lay down and die at any moment.

“Loki?” Thor asked again, even more concerned.

And instead of responding, Loki collapsed. He fell to the ground limp as a rag doll.

“Shit!” Valkyrie gasped out.

“Loki!” Thor cried.

The two hurried over towards the fallen god.

“No more fight?” Hulk asked, getting to his feet.

“Not right now big guy,” Valkyrie murmured as she crouched down beside Loki’s still form.

Carefully, Thor rolled his younger brother onto his back. He went to sweep away the stray hairs upon the god’s face but recoiled in shock when he felt just how far his cheekbones were jutting out. 

Loki looked utterly horrible. And no, that was not an overstatement. His skin was even paler up close, his limbs were so thin and frail they looked as if they might snap in two, and the bags under his eyes were huge and dark.

“Oh gods,” Val said as she held one of Loki’s wrist, her hand easily wrapping all the way around it. She felt like she might throw up. Obviously, they had noticed that Loki was thinner than healthy, but there’s not much you can do for someone like him. Someone who rejects everyone without a second thought.

She cursed when she noticed a cut on his head. It was most likely nothing but it was very unwise to move someone who had hit their head.

“Keep him still and don’t move him, we don’t know how hard he hit his head.” She instructed the fretting King while she stood. “I’ll get Eir.” She told him, already leaving through the doorway as he nodded.

“Oh Loki,” Thor murmured, looking down at his sickly younger brother. He felt guilt welling in his chest. He was supposed to protect his younger brother, no matter what. _This_ didn’t exactly look like protecting him. 

Thor felt heavy footsteps behind him growing nearer. The Hulk looked down at the two royals.

“Tiny god hurt?” He asked.

“Yes,” Thor nodded, “He’s hurt.”

“No more smashing?” The Hulk asked for a second time, looking slightly troubled.

“No more smashing,” Thor confirmed. “We’re just going to sit. Do you want to sit with us?” He asked rather nervously. The Hulk was unpredictable in moments like these.

“Okay.” The Hulk rumbled, Thor sighed in relief. Hulk sat down rather roughly, but much gentler than Thor had expected from the giant monster.

A few moments passed in silence. Hulk being surprisingly docile and Thor holding Loki’s hand worriedly. And then,

“No!” Hulk roared suddenly, grabbing his head tightly, fingers entangling in his hair. Thor’s eyes widened.

“What?” He asked, watching his friend seemingly fight himself. “What are you doing?”

“Banner want out!” Hulk cried angrily, throwing his head back.

Thor’s brow furrowed. He didn’t need the two fighting right now. The king stood rather uncertainly, letting go of his brother’s hand and placing it gently on the ground, and put up both of his own hands. “Hey big guy, look at me, look at me.” 

After repeating himself a few times, the Hulk’s eyes darted towards him before clenching in anger once more. “What!?” He roared annoyedly. 

“If you let Banner out-” Thor was interrupted by a roar of denial.

“Hey!” He snapped. The Hulk turned to him once more. “If you let Banner out, you can have an extra day. A whole extra day. How does that sound big guy?”

The Hulk stared at him. Perhaps Banner had gone silent or perhaps he was ignoring him. Either way, Hulk stared for some time.

And finally, by some absolute miracle, he closed his eyes. And the next thing Thor knew, Bruce Banner was standing in his place, eyes wide.

The scientist was shirtless, but the pants Loki had given him remained. Thank the norns that was no longer a issue. His hair was a mess and he looked uncertain upon his own feet. And still, the first thing his eyes looked to was Loki’s still body.

“Thor is he okay?” Bruce asked worriedly, already rushing towards the younger god.

Had Thor not been so worried himself, he would have smiled at the scientist. It warmed his heart to see Brunnhilde and Bruce becoming attached to Loki.

“I’m not sure…” Thor replied quietly, looking back to his brother.

“Things are blurry when i’m inside… What happened?” The scientist questioned, kneeling down beside his teammates.

“Hulk and I were fighting, I won by the way,” He said and Bruce rolled his eyes, “And Val and I were joking and I look over to Loki and he’s white as a fribblethorn. Then, he just collapsed.” The King explained wearily. 

“He hit his head?” Bruce asked, eyeing the gash on the second prince’s head. Thor nodded.

“I’m not sure how hard.”

Bruce’s lips thinned as he examined Loki’s prone body. “He looks sicker than when I last saw him…”

Their conversation was cut short by boots clamouring in the hallway. Valkyrie and Eir appeared in the doorway. Both adorned a worried expression, though, Valkyrie would deny that till her final days.

xxx

“So why’d he pass out?” Brunnhilde asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

They were all standing in the small but still functional medbay. Loki was lying unconscious in one of the cots.

“He has not been eating or sleeping, I believe both are side effects of stress.” Eir explained, looking over at Loki with an unreadable expression upon her face.

Eir had known Loki since he was first brought to Asgard. She, along with Heimdall, Odin and Frigga, had known of Loki’s heritage. They needed a healer who would treat him accordingly if ever needed. And needed it was.

Loki was a sickly child. Perhaps it was due to being a runt, or perhaps it was because he was a frost giant living outside of Jotunheim. Either or, Loki constantly found himself being treated by Eir as a child. 

_“Such a thin boy, are you eating enough?”_

_“Of course.”_

_“Are you sure?”_

_“Of course.”_

The healer wasn’t happy to see not much had changed.

“Stress?” Thor repeated, puzzled. 

“Yes,” Eir nodded, “I’m not quite sure what’s got him worrying in circles, but it’s been taking a toll on his body.” 

“Well how do we make him eat and sleep?” 

“That,” She started, “Will have to do with him becoming less stressed. Whatever this boy is fretting over… well it must be something big. Perhaps one of you could try and coax it out of him. Quite the stubborn one isn’t he?”

“Yeah,” Valkyrie said as they all nodded, “He’s one stubborn bitch.” She ignored the slight glare Eir shot at the use of profanity.

“Well in the meantime we should let him rest,” The healer stated, ushering them towards the door, “shoo shoo!”

xxx

“So why’d he pass out?”

Brunnhilde stared at the still body in the cot. So pale he could have been mistaken for a dead body. That… didn’t sit right with her.

He looked terribly small in that bed. _Too_ small. Despite being unconscious his little form shook like a leaf, shivering like mad. Blood had soaked through the thin layer of bandages upon his head.

She swallowed thickly, still looking at him. Somewhere in the back of her mind she thinks she heard Eir say something about not eating or sleeping.

Seeing him like that, she was reminded of their conversation.

_“I’m much older than you, aren’t I?”_

Looking at him now, it was noticeable. Gods, he really was so much younger than her.

She felt a surge of protectiveness inside her. He was younger than her, weaker than her, smaller than her. Essentially, he was a child. She assumed that meant she, along with Bruce and Thor, would have to protect him.

 _That’s your job anyways,_ She grumbled inside her head, _protect the throne_

But maybe, _maybe_ , she wanted to protect him because it was more than her job.

_Maybe._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> valkyrie and bruce are highkey getting attached to this dumb slut known as loki and they're not sure how to feel about it
> 
>  
> 
> also this chapter is rlly bad and idk how to fix it lmao sorry


	6. Loki why the FUCK is there a blue cube in your hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> loki comes to terms with what's been stressing him out so terribly and the revengers try their best to help his dumb ass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> VERY short chapter! Although I definitely wouldn't call it a filler because it's an important moment for the team so that they may move forward and grow closer.

“So stress huh?” 

Loki looked up, startled at the new presence in the infirmary. His eyes were wide as he watched Valkyrie seat herself upon the cot next to her. He nodded, choosing not to speak.

“That’s stupid.” She stated as if it was a fact. He narrowed his eyes at her. 

“And why is that?” He asked her, watching as she twirled a strand of her hair lazily. She remained silent for quite some time, long enough for Loki to believe she wouldn’t even bother answering.

“Because…” She started, sounding slightly troubled, “Because if you were that fucking stressed why the Hel didn’t you talk to anyone?” She gritted out.

Loki blinked, “What?”

Valkyrie sighed angrily. “You’re the most whiny bitch I know! You always come to me about the most trivial problems so why the fuck didn’t you come to me about this one? Or Thor, or Heimdall, or Bruce, even fucking Korg!”

Loki smiled wryly. “My, were you worried about me?” He teased.

“ _Don’t_ change the fucking subject,” She growled. Loki’s grin dropped and he looked away from her. 

“Yes, I was worried Lackey.” She sighed, “That’s what makes it so fucking irritating. You worried _everyone_. I know you’re used to being this dramatic princess of darkness who has no friends, no family, no allies, but you don’t have that anymore.” She said, trying her best to be comforting. _Gods I really do fucking suck at this._ Loki looked over at her with an unreadable expression upon his face.

“So tell me what was stressing you out so much.” She said after a short bit of silence. His eyes widened and he shook his head vehemently. Her brow furrowed. He looked… scared.

“Hey…” She started awkwardly, not knowing how to talk to Loki without insulting him. “I know you and I aren’t those kind of people… but you can… talk to me.” _What the fuck am I talking about? Why the fuck am I even talking to him right now?_ She thought angrily in the back of her head.

 _Because you care._ A voice echoed in her mind. Of course, she ignored it.

“No,” Loki shook his head once more, “This is one thing I can’t talk about.”

“Bullshit.” She stated plainly. 

“I _can’t_.” Loki gritted out, looking more and more frustrated by the second. And yet… fear still lingered in his eyes.

“Yes you can.” She shot back. No, she wasn’t going to back down. Valkyrie did _not_ back down. Ever. 

“ _No._ ”

“ _Loki._ ” She said, using his actual name. She didn’t think she’d ever called him anything but Lackey. His eyes widened.

Loki closed his eyes, knuckles white as he gripped the covers of the infirmary bed. He swallowed thickly.

Minutes passed and neither of them spoke. Valkyrie watched as the god controlled his breathing.

Perhaps she pushed him too far. How the hell was she supposed to know how far was too far? It wasn’t her fault obviously. Loki was probably the most over complicated person she knew, she had absolutely no idea how to go about talking to him.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden movement. Loki had lifted his hand into the air as if he was holding something. In a flash of green he was holding… a cube.

Well that’s what it looked like anyways. It _felt_ like a lot more than that. It was radiating power. She felt wrong just being in the same room as it. Loki was shaking like a leaf as he held the cube. 

“What is that?” 

Loki opened his mouth to explain, but all that came out was a strangled sob. “I’m sorry…” He whispered. “I didn’t mean to but-”

“Loki!?” A startled but accusing gasp interrupted the god of mischief. Loki whipped his head towards the voice, panic in his eyes.

Thor, along with Bruce, was standing in the doorway of the infirmary. There was an affronted look upon the thunderer’s face. He hurried over to the bed.

“Loki…” Thor started, a dangerous look in his eyes. Loki immediately used his magic to make the cube vanish. 

“Brother, I assure you I-”

Bruce interrupted him, looking… betrayed? “Are you still working for him? Loki, after everything he’s done to you-”

“No!” A cry erupted from Loki’s lips as he tried to explain himself. “No I-”

“Then why? I thought you were good you know? Not _good_ good but, good enough to not pick the tesseract over us” There was a disappointed look upon Bruce’s face. 

Valkyrie’s eyes widened. The tesseract? She had only heard about the infinity stones… but she knew they weren’t something to be meddled with. “What the fuck?” She blurted out. Loki looked over to her, almost as if he had forgotten she was there. 

“You don’t understand!” He snarled. “ _None_ you understand.” There was an unbridled fury in his eyes. 

That seemed to shut them all up. The only sound in the room was Loki’s laboured breathing.

“You don’t understand.” He whispered once more.

“Than- _He_ , was inside my mind on midgard. He rearranged my thoughts, _toyed_ with them.” Loki started quietly, he had the undivided attention of everyone in the room. 

“And… and when I saw the- the tesseract in Asgard’s vault, all I could hear was the voice, the stone’s voice… telling me to take it. To take it or _He_ would punish me.”

“I can’t feel that again.” He whispered. Valkyrie noticed how small he looked in that moment. Well, he was always small, but here he looked… tiny. His shoulders were shaking and he was curling in upon himself. She felt her chest tighten. 

“Oh Loki,” Thor started, sadness replacing the hurt on his face. 

“I don’t want your pity.” Loki growled, but the quiver in his voice betrayed him. 

Without even thinking, Valkyrie stood from the bed and walked over to Loki. In one quick motion, she embraced him, one arm draped across his back and another cradling his injured head as it rested on her shoulder. 

Loki’s eyes widened, “What are you doing?” He asked. 

“It’s called hugging Lackey.”

“You don’t seem like the hugging type,” He said.

“I’m not, so you better soak this shit up.” She replied, voice slightly muffled by his shoulder. Slowly, as if he was afraid, Loki reciprocated the hug by wrapping his arms around her. He felt another set of arms wrap around him and looked up to see his brother. Loki came to the disgusting realization that they were having what midgardians called a group hug. He made a sour face.

“Well we can’t exclude Bruce,” Valkyrie said, waving the scientist over. 

“I’m quite sure this makes us worse than the Avengers,” Loki grumbled from the middle of the group hug. 

He definitely, _definitely_ , was not holding back tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry u had to read that piece of ooc trash oops


	7. The game of L̶i̶f̶e̶ everything bad in the world and drunken gods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> its five in the morning abd I cant rememberwhat yhe cahpters about so uhm I tihink they hget drunk and yeah ha e fun reading this dipshits
> 
> (I, personally, anm not drunk, jyst tired)

“Thor now!”

“I’m _trying_!”

“Thor!”

“Aim for the head!”

“Will you both shut up!? I’m trying to aim for the head but it’s moving too much!” Thor growled out annoyedly, gripping his sword tightly. Loki narrowed his eyes at his brother and Valkyrie scoffed. 

Brunnhilde and Loki both had their arms wrapped tightly around a rogue alien’s flailing limbs. It’s strange beak like mouth snapped at them as Thor wrestled it’s other two arms.

“This is why you should have a gun sparky!” Valkyrie cried over the beasts enraged cries.

“It’s not like I refused a gun!” Thor cried indignantly, swinging his blade at the beast. 

“What a great time to have the Hulk out of commission.” Loki mumbled, digging his nails into the alien’s arm. 

“What was that Lackey!?” Val cried, almost being swept off her feet as alien tried to swing it’s arm around. 

“He wishes the Hulk was here.” Thor said, a slight teasing nature in his voice. Loki had half the mind to stick his tongue out. No, he was too mature for that, he decided. 

“Oh enough!” Loki groaned, gripping the beast’s arm so tight that it drew blood. With a final angry squeeze, a burst of green magic erupted from his fingertips. The alien reared its head back and let loose an animalistic cry, falling to its knees. In a matter of seconds, the alien had crumbled into nothing but a small pile of rubble.

“Loki!” Thor let out an annoyed groan. “You aren’t supposed to use your magic unless needed!”

Valkyrie flicked Loki’s forehead, earning a surprised blink from the latter. He narrowed his eyes at her. 

“I’m fine Thor,” Loki said massaging his temple with a slightly pained expression upon his face.

“If you’re fine then why are you rubbing your head?” The thunderer countered.

“I just happen to have a headache, completely unrelated to my magic you oaf.” Loki replied once more. Valkyrie poked the pile of rubble with the toe of her boot.

“Does someone have a broom?”

“Just throw it out the airlock.”

“I’m pretty sure Bruce would call that littering.”

xxx

“Another alien attack?” Bruce asked as his three teammates entered the “royal lounge”. In all honesty, it was just a room that Thor had deemed suitable for the revengers to hang out in. All of them looked rather disheveled and tired.

“The third one this week.” Thor nodded, collapsing into one of the chairs. Valkyrie was already making her way towards the bar and Loki was laying down on one of the couches, a withered expression upon his face. Bruce chuckled lightly.

“I feel bad for not helping,” Bruce admitted, a soft smile still upon his face. 

“No,” Thor said, and Loki shook his head. “You’re too squishy and weak. and if one of the aliens broke a window like last time you would be sucked into space and die.” 

Bruce smiled tightly, just thinking of being sucked into space made him shudder. “Yeah no thanks.”

xxx

“Eat it.”

“What? No.”

“ _Eat it._ ”

“ _No._ ”

“What are you two doing?” Thor asked as he walked into the lounge. Loki and Valkyrie were seated at the bar, both transfixed by some weird looking container. 

“Valkyrie found some strange, most likely outdated, and very questionable food in one of the bar’s cupboards.” Loki said, staring at the food with a withering expression, “And now she’s telling me to eat it.”

“You never know, it could taste good.” She shrugged. 

The item in the jar looked anything but that. The jar’s lid was old and rusted, making it even less appealing. The food inside looked like a mixture of frog eggs and ketchup. It floated awkwardly in a yellow puss like substance. 

“I will bet you two hundred units that it tastes absolutely repulsive.” Loki said, a displeased look upon his face.

“So you’ll eat it?”

“If you agree to the bet.”

“Alright then. Looks like I’m gonna win two hundred units.” She smiled smugly. Loki rolled his eyes and summoned a spoon into his hand. 

“Really?” Thor asked, having been watching the two the whole time, “You keep a spoon in the same place you keep your weapons?”

“You never know when you might need a spoon.” Loki shrugged. 

Slowly, Loki twisted off the lid and dipped his spoon into the jar. He made a noise of displeasure as his spoon finally hit the food. 

“It just jiggled.” He said flatly. Both Valkyrie and Thor remained silent. 

With the most unimpressed look Thor had ever seen, Loki brought the spoon to his lips. Grudgingly, he swallowed it. 

“Well?” Thor asked, watching as his brother didn’t react. Loki looked to both of them with expressionless eyes, before turning and vomiting onto the floor. Valkyrie looked at him with a repulsed look upon her face. Thor laughed loudly. 

“What was that about winning two hundred units?”

xxx

The more Loki thought about it, the more he realized there wasn’t really all that much to do on a giant spaceship. Sure, he had a couple books, but those grew old quite quick, seeing as he had already read them all multiple times.

“I didn’t think a space journey was going to be this boring.” Valkyrie groaned, slamming her head onto the Bar’s counter. 

“Well what would you suggest we do?” Loki asked flatly. He was draped dramatically across one of the couches, something he did often.

“I want to go outside.” She moaned unhappily. Loki lazily threw a hand up in the air.

“By all means go ahead,” He replied, now pointing towards the vast emptiness that surrounded their ship. 

“Fuck you Lackey this is your fault.” 

“ _my_ fault? I believe it was your decision to join Thor on his suicide mission.”

“Yes but he’s your brother, which makes it partially your fault.” 

“That is wildly incorrect.”

They lapsed back into silence.

“I’m bored.”

“Oh really? I had no idea.”

xxx

“How do we play this again?” Thor asked with a quizzical glance, staring at the strange board in the middle of the table. 

“It’s complicated, I’ll explain it as we go.” Bruce replied, grabbing a little white car with holes on the top.

“Where the fuck did you even find this?” Valkyrie asked, taking a large sip from her drink.

“We didn’t. Bruce told me about the game he and his team played on Midgard and we decided to recreate it.” Loki explained.

“Wait what the fuck how?”

“Well,” Loki said, picking up one of the cars, “This isn’t actually a tiny plastic car,” With a wave of green, the car was revealed to be a fork. “It just looks and feels like one.”

“For some reason I thought the answer would be more entertaining,” Valkyrie sighed, “Guess I’m just not drunk enough yet.”

Loki glared and threw the car at her. She caught it and winked.

xxx

“But I don’t want a wife or husband.” Loki stated plainly, a slight slur in his voice. They had been drinking all night. “I’m doing fine on my own, they’d just drag me down.”

“That’s not how the game works.” Bruce replied, swirling around his watered down alcohol. 

“You have to be a team player Lackey, get yourself a nice husband and make him pay for everything.” Brunnhilde advised. Loki nodded in approval of her idea. 

“No,” Bruce sighed, rubbing his temple, “Your spouse doesn’t make any additional money.”

“Then I don’t want one.” Loki decided firmly. 

“The bigger the family you have at the end the more points you get.” Bruce explained, trying to persuade Loki. The god narrowed his eyes.

“So my score is based on whether or not I can get fucked? That’s deplorable.” He scrunched up his face. “I just wish to remain single.”

“Fuck yeah,” Valkyrie slurred, “single life for the win.” Loki nodded and they high fived. Bruce sighed once more, reminding himself to never play the game of life with them again, sober or not.

“Thor what’s wrong?” 

“Why don’t I get a dog?” He asked, a pout on his face. Bruce furrowed his brow.

“Because no one gets a dog, that’s not how the game works.” 

“Nuh uh, Val has one.”

“What? How?” Bruce turned his attention to the little blue car with a brown dog shaped peg that had appeared from seemingly nowhere. “How did you get that?”

“She wanted a dog so I made her one.” Loki replied.

“Loki you can’t do that,” Bruce sighed for what felt like the millionth time.

“Yes I can, I just did.”

“Bruce I want a dog.” Thor complained.

“Well then I want a cat.” Loki demanded. “A little black one with green eyes.” He slurred.

Bruce put his head in his hands.

xxx

“My King,” Heimdall greeted, stepping into the throne room. Thor turned his head. 

“Hello Heimdall.” He smiled. “What brings you here?”

“Sadly nothing good,” The gatekeeper admitted. 

“It never really is,” Thor shrugged. “So what is it?”

“Rations, your highness. This ship is not suitable for an algae farm, despite our best efforts and… we believe it’d be best to dock at a trading post.”

“We?” Thor asked.

“The council, or… what remains of the council.” Heimdall replied. Thor nodded.

“Very well. I trust your decision. We’ll dock at the nearest market and try to trade for more rations.” Thor decided.

“Of course, my King.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tyhis chapter is so short wtf


	8. Thor could you please put down the creepy rock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The revengers go to a moon and have a great time!!!!1!1!!!1!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a mess bc ive been sick as fuck for like a week and I wrote this all in a haze and its HELLA poorly written

“This trading post is home to many species, so I would advise you to listen closely to my next instructions.”

Thor stood at the head of a large table, slightly smaller than the one that Loki had frozen. The members of the council sat listening to their King, eyes focusing on nothing but him.

“My brother and I, along with Heimdall and Doctor Banner, have done some research on this district. For years it was known as a refuge for people targeted by… a certain warlord.” Thor eyed Loki wearily. The younger simply glared. 

_“I’m not some fragile being you dolt.”_ Loki hissed at Thor telepathically. The god of thunder rolled his eyes.

“Anyways,” Thor cleared his throat, noticing he had paused, “It has now become less of a haven and more of… a chaotic realm. There is no leader, it’s just a moon, and therefore there are no rules. In other words, it’s a place where the habitants won’t hesitate to kill you. That being said, I strongly urge you to proceed with care. Do not get into fights and _certainly_ do not go off on your own. This moon is rather famous for its alien trafficking system. Go off on your own, and you may not come back at all.” Thor directed. The king looked rather upset about sending his people into such a dangerous place. 

“Everyone will go off in groups of four. Everyone _except_ those with injuries.” Thor said pointedly, narrowing his eyes at a man with a bandaged shoulder and a cane who was already getting up on shaky legs. The man let out a huff and sat back down, grumbling quietly.

“The groups have been chosen at random. There will be no objections. I don’t care if your families have been feuding for years, you will work together for Asgard.”

“Group one will be myself, Doctor Banner, Heimdall, and Erik Troyson.” A boy no more than one thousand and three hundred years beamed. He had piercing green eyes and dark black hair. Loki didn’t like him. 

“Group two will be Dahlia Omson, Magna Ciasdottir, Kari Denson, and Odin Fellson.” Thor faltered momentarily on the last name, but brushed it off. Odin was a common name, it meant nothing. He looked over to the four he had called upon. Dahlia, with olive tanned skin and dark brown hair, Magna, with rich dark skin and a confident yet relaxed look upon her face. Kari, a small looking boy with unruly curls. And Odin, who looked rather bored, twirling a strand of his long golden hair.

“Group three, Loki Odinson,” Loki pursed his lips at the name, “Brunnhilde Fellsdottir, Njal Genson, and Mikkel Halvorson.” Thor stated, furrowing his brow as he remembered just who Mikkel was. Valkyrie instantly turned to glare at Mikkel, who simply gave her an awkward grin.

Thor went on, listing citizen after citizen, until no member was left. Well, excluding the scowling man with the injured shoulder and the young maiden with a broken leg. 

xxx

Loki walked in silence, scanning his surroundings. The market was horridly busy. All sorts of aliens bustled around, chattering loudly. He wasn’t amused, to say the least.

The trickster didn’t miss the way Valkyrie stood close to him, or the way that she had made sure Mikkel was as far away from the prince as possible. Although for some reason, that didn’t annoy him. 

“What’s got you all sour faced?” Valkyrie asked him as they walked, admiring all the huts and what they were selling. 

“I am not ‘sour faced’,” Loki replied snidely, “I just don’t care for settings like this. Much too loud.”

“Lighten up Lackey,” She rolled her eyes, “This is the first time we’ve left the ship in _ages_.”

“Oh don’t be so dramatic,” He scoffed, elbowing her softly in the ribs. She grinned. 

They continued their walk in silence, observing every stand and scouring for supplies.

“Uh… My prince?” A slightly nervous voice came from behind the two of them. Brunnhilde turned her head, looking to where Mikkel should have been standing, he wasn’t there. Instead, he was standing rather close to the god of mischief. 

The group stopped, moving to stand beside a building so that they were out of the way.

“What do you want?” Valkyrie inquired, stepping in front of Loki, almost protectively. 

_”Honestly Valkyrie, I don’t need your protection. Much less from a child, even an annoying one.”_ Loki chided in her mind. 

“Like it or not I’m sworn to protect the throne,” She stated out loud, not bothering to use his magic links. Loki rolled his eyes. Both Mikkel and Njal looked confused. 

“What do you want…” Loki paused, trying to remember the boy’s name. In all honesty he really didn’t care. 

“Mikkel,” The boy supplied, “and I want to talk to you, just for a second.”

Brunnhilde scoffed.

“Alright,” Loki nodded, ignoring his ‘guard’. He was already annoyed with Mikkel. The prince placed a hand on Brunnhilde’s shoulder and moved her to the side. She huffed, but complied all the same. Mikkel moved to walk beside the god. 

They walked in silence for a few minutes, Valkyrie and Njal trailing behind. People bustled all around them. 

“I wanted to apologize.” Mikkel blurted out. Loki raised a brow, but remained silent. 

“That day I mentioned the Mad- someone. I didn’t know I was going to… freak you out.”He continued, “If I had _any_ idea that was going to happen, I wouldn’t have said a word.”

Loki pursed his lips together, holding his head high and avoiding Mikkel’s gaze. 

“I’m really really sorry.” Mikkel pleaded. Loki looked down at the boy

“...I suppose it’s alright.” Loki decided finally. “If you truly didn’t mean any harm… and you are just a child…”

Mikkel furrowed his brow. “I’m eleven hundred.”

“Oh,” Loki said, a strained and awkward smile upon his face, “apologies then.” 

“It’s no worry. I’m simply thankful you’ve forgiven me.” Mikkel replied, a relieved look upon his face as he migrated back towards Njal. 

In all honesty, Loki hadn’t even been holding a grudge over what had transpired. He simply didn’t enjoy Mikkel’s presence. It had nothing to do with what the brunet had said. 

“So what was that about?” Valkyrie asked, looking back at Mikkel, who was already chatting excitedly.

“He was apologizing for our first… interaction.”

“Oh,” Val nodded, “The day where your seidr fucked us all over.”

“If that’s what you’d like to call it, then yes.” 

xxx

“Bruce! Bruce! Look at this!” Thor waved his friend over to one of the many stands. The king had a silver trinket in his hand.

Bruce blinked down at it, expression blank. “What is it?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” Thor admitted, “but it looks cool!”

“Your majesty, if I may interject,” Heimdall started, “We should try to stay on task, looking for rations and medical supplies.”

“Yes yes,” Thor nodded, putting the object down, “thank you Heimdall.”

Only minutes later and, “Erik! Erik! Look at this!” 

Heimdall sighed.

xxx

“Where’s Kari?” Dahlia frowned, looking around.

“I don’t care.” Odin mumbled, staring down at some type of device. Dahlia narrowed her eyes at him. 

“Magna? Have you seen him?” She asked the other girl. Magna shook her head before going back to looking at a ruby encrusted sword that had caught her eye.

“This is great,” Dahlia groaned, “Not only did we lose Kari, but we haven’t gotten any supplies yet!”

At that moment, a loud crash resonated through the market, screams accompanying it.

“Found him.” Odin said monotonously, not looking up.

xxx

“Hey Lackey look!” Valkyrie called the prince over to one of the huts. He wandered over slowly, much to her dislike. 

“Oh,” Loki replied dumbly, looking down at the bandages and potions, “That’s actually quite useful.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She glared at him as he pulled out a pouch of gold.

“Nothing, go stand over there.” 

“Just cause you’re the prince doesn’t mean you can order me around!” She called over her shoulder as she walked towards where he had pointed. 

“Pretty sure it does!”

xxx

The day for group one had gone rather well. After Heimdall had gotten Thor to focus, that is. They had managed to find a rather large supply of preservable foods for a good price, and a couple bottles of disinfectant that was practically free. It had taken them quite some time though, most things in the market were just useless trinkets.

“Erik come here,” The king motioned to the boy. The raven haired teen shuffled over curiously.

“Isn’t it magnificent?” Thor asked, opening his palm so that Erik could see what he was holding. Bruce furrowed his brow, looking over his friend’s shoulder.

An ugly oval shaped rock was nestled into the thunderer’s hand. A rather creepy smiling face was carved into it.

“Thor!” Bruce cried.

“What!?”

“You bought that!?”

“Of course not.” The king shook his head. 

“You _stole_ it!?” 

“No!” Thor replied hastily. “I was admiring it when the sweet old woman running the stand said I could keep it.” The thunderer grinned, looking happy as ever.

“Probably because it’s so ugly.” Erik deadpanned as Bruce snickered. 

It was at that moment that everything went downhill at an alarming rate.

“Doctor Banner!” Came a frantic cry. Bruce’s head snapped up instantly. “My King!”

Mikkel and Njal were racing towards the group, eyes wide with panic. 

The doctor felt his stomach drop when he saw blood on Mikkel’s tunic. 

xxx

Valkyrie watched as Loki paid for the supplies, he smiled politely and even struck up conversation with the woman at the hut. _Dumb Twink._

She looked over to where Mikkel was showing Njal some strange array of little treasures. Njal showed little to no interest, much to Mikkel’s dislike, which he emphasized with whinings and pulling on Njal’s tunic. 

That was when Valkyrie felt a hand on her shoulder. 

“Such a pretty woman, what are you doing all alone?” A scratchy voice whispered into her ear.

Brunnhilde reached up and latched onto the hand gripping her shoulder. With one swing she pulled them over her back and flipped them onto the ground.

It was a rather gangly looking Kree man. “Oh she’s a fighter,” He chuckled from his spot on the ground.

A pistol was set off from behind her, she moved out of the way just narrowly, the blast still slicing open her cheek. “Fuck,” She hissed, wiping the blood away. Valkyrie turned to see at least thirty Kree occupying the alleyway and closing in on her. 

“I can’t have one good fucking day,” She muttered as she unsheathed her blade. She swung at the two Kree in front, creating large gashes in their chests. Kneeling down, she jabbed the hilt of her sword back, hitting the man she had flipped over in the stomach. She turned and slit his neck, kicking his body away for good measure. 

“Need some help?” 

Valkyrie turned to see Njal and Mikkel fending off the Kree as well. Njal was wielding some weird type of orbs. They were small and moved at his command. Mikkel had a little blaster, and was going almost batshit crazy firing the thing off. Valkyrie chuckled breathlessly. 

She craned her neck to see Loki fighting three Kree men. He had his daggers in hand, speedily hacking away at them.

They worked in tandem, killing Kree left and right. Soon, there were hardly any left.

As she plunged her sword through the stomach of one of them, Brunhilde felt a searing pain in her shoulder. Gasping in pain, she looked over to see a sword nestled right above her collarbone. 

_Lucky shot._ She hissed in pain as she pulled it out carefully, tossing the dirty blade to the ground with disgust. 

Next thing Valkyrie knew, green tendrils had wrapped around her torso and yanked her away from where she had been kneeling. She looked over to see one of the Kree had almost put an axe through her head while she was distracted. Would have split her skull had the prince not pulled her away.

She took Loki’s hand as he pulled her up. “Could have just yelled a heads up or something.” She teased.

“Yelling has never been my strong suit.” He shrugged.

“Showoff.” She muttered while grinning. Beside her, Loki went deathly still. 

“Lackey?” Valkyrie turned, concerned. Her eyes widened. Loki’s back was arched, eyes wide with shock and lips parted in a silent ‘o’. 

“Lackey?” She called once more, stepping forward. Blood began to seep through his tunic, decorating his chest in crimson. “Fuck!”

Behind Loki, the air started to warp. Valkyrie saw as a small kree man was revealed. Her breath hitched his sword was revealed to be going right through Loki’s chest. The look of maniacal glee upon the Kree’s face made Valkyrie sick to her stomach. 

Loki gasped in in pain as the man ripped his sword away, falling to his knees. The Kree’s victory was short lived. The minute his sword was pulled away, he was shot through the head. Mikkel stood only a few feet away, holding up his gun with an angry look upon his face. 

“Shit shit shit shit _shit_!”

Brunnhilde eased Loki onto the ground, holding him. “You fucking idiot!” She snarled. 

Loki merely laughed, blood bubbling in his mouth. “So you’re blaming me for getting myself stabbed? He was _invisible_.” He winced, teeth stained with blood. 

Valkyrie put her hands on the stab wound, applying as much pressure as possible. “Shut the hell up and concentrate on not bleeding out.” She hissed. 

“That’s not how tha-” Loki was interrupted by an animalistic glare. He laid his head on the ground at stared up at the sky.

“Lady Valkyrie,” Mikkel gasped out, still out of breath from the fight. “What should we do!?”

“Go get Doctor Banner and King Thor,” She gritted out, “ _now!_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i mean,,, i'd say im sorry but you all knew this was coming
> 
>  
> 
> anyways i shamelessly wrote my OC's into this bc i accidentally fell in love with all of them oops


	9. this dumb twink went and got himself stabbed but what's new?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the revengers are basically one big frantically worried mess and Eir is not much better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry updates are so random and spread out school is kicking my ass

Thor had no idea why he was running.

Well, actually no, that was a lie… Sort of. 

He knew that something bad had happened, and he knew it involved blood and injury. Yes, that was pretty much it. He couldn’t tell if it was better or worse than knowing everything. Mikkel had given zero indication of what had happened, the young adult had simply told them to follow him. 

Both Mikkel and Njal looked to be in a panic which, obviously, didn’t sit right with Thor in any way. The blood on Mikkel’s tunic, which evidently wasn’t his own, did nothing to ease Thor’s qualms. 

All the young king could think of as he raced through the trading post, knocking multiple things over on his way, was that someone in group three was hurt. And because Mikkel and Njal were both fine, (scared but fine) that meant there were only two other people that could possibly be in trouble. Brunnhilde and Loki.

Thor swallowed thickly, taking quick breaths. If either of them were hurt… Thor didn’t even want to think about it. The possibility of either of them even being associated with danger was enough to grate his nerves. _And you decided to bring them **here**._

As they ran, they passed a bickering group of… Asgardians. Of course, it had to be aesir. Magna, Dahlia, Odin, and Kai were all standing in a circle fighting with each other. Over what, Thor had no idea, but Kai had a split lip and black eye, which made him highly question the work ethics of said group. Mikkel stopped running to look at them, panting loudly. 

“You,” He pointed, “All four of you. I need you to return to the ship and prep the medical room for a new patient _immediately._

The four went silent, staring at the blood on Mikkel’s tunic and then turning to stare at their King. Thor realized they were waiting for his confirmation. He nodded silently. Mikkel and Njal had both been there, they knew best.

And with that, they were running again. Thor’s stomach filled with even more dread. The way Mikkel had taken charge, the young man had never done anything like that. It made Thor even more aware that the situation at hand was drastic. 

Beside him, was Bruce. The scientist seemed to be out of breath but ran still, his mind plagued with horrible thoughts, _Oh god… what if something happened to Val? Or Loki? Oh god oh god._

What if it’s _both of them!?_ Bruce was quite possibly freaking out quite a bit more than he had in a while. It didn’t help that the Hulk was rumbling in his skull. “ _Smell blood, lots of blood._ ”

Bruce felt like he was going to throw up and it wasn’t from the amount of running they were doing.

They stopped dead in their tracks as they rounded the alley, watching the scene unfold around them.

Brunnhilde was keeling on the ground. Her hands were coated in blood, looking almost like they had been dyed red. She had both of them pressing down hard on crimson stained sheets, norns knows where she found them. Her hair was a mess, frizzed and filled with dirt and blood. There was a gash on her cheek that still bleed freely, making her spit out blood every few minutes. Her armor was also coated in blood, some hers and some not. The alley was slanted, causing blood to trickle down and pool at their feet.

Lying at her knees, face pale and lifeless, was the second prince of Asgard.

Both Thor and Bruce felt their world stop. Bruce went rigid, eyes wide with shock and fear. Thor stared with a similar expression.

“Don’t just stand there!” Valkyrie cried, looking up at them. “Help me!”

Snapped out of their trance, the two, along with Heimdall, rushed to Loki’s side. 

“What happened!?” Thor croaked out as he neared his brother. It took every bit of willpower he had not to fall to his knees. _That was his baby brother._

“Hm, that’s a good question. Why don’t I stop to give you all the details while he fucking bleeds out!?” Valkyrie snarled, putting even more pressure on the wound. Thor had to bite his tongue to not snap back at her. 

“We need to get him back to the ship.” Heimdall decided at once. Valkyrie looked up at him, clearly questioning him.

“A group of Asgardians have already set up the medbay. We don’t have the necessary supplies to stabilize him here. If we don’t get him to the ship, and soon, he’ll most likely bleed out.” 

They didn’t have time to hesitate. They had to trust Heimdall’s decision which, in all honesty, wasn’t that hard to do. Heimdall was a reliable man. 

“Okay,” Thor gasped out, still staring at Loki’s unresponsive body, “Okay.”

Valkyrie nodded, moving to pick the trickster up. “Stop,” Thor shook his head, “You’re hurt.” 

“No I’m not.” She replied, brushing him off. 

“Then what happened there?” Bruce asked her pointedly, staring at both the cut on her cheek and stab wound above her collarbone.

“Nothing.” She said, almost as if she was ignoring them.

“Brun we don’t have time for this.” Thor told her, teeth gritted. Valkyrie hesitated, looking down at Loki and pursing her lips. 

“Fine,” She sighed, standing up so that someone else could do it. 

Thor kneeled down, scooping up his little brother and cradling him to his chest. Loki’s head lolled limply, thudding against Thor’s chest. It made the king’s stomach clench. 

“Keep pressure on the stab wound, it went right through his chest.” Valkyrie advised almost apathetically, turning away. Thor nodded, looking to Heimdall.

“We must hurry.” The gatekeeper told them.

xxx

When they got back to the ship, it was pandemonium, to say the least. 

Magna, Dahlia, Kai and Odin were all swarming the Revengers, telling them what to do. Thor had his brother bundled in his arms, trying to understand what the teens were saying. Valkyrie was stood protectively at his side, Bruce right beside her. Heimdall had disappeared, most likely to round up the other groups, though he looked upset at the prospect of leaving Loki in such a state. Still, someone had to be the adult, and Thor was much too busy worrying over his brother.

Eir was a mess. To put it lightly, that is. She had been organizing what little supplies they had when four panicked teens came at her from all sides, talking about how someone was hurt and blood. 

_“Well it has to be either Valkyrie or Loki.” Magna told them. They were all sitting in the medbay and Eir couldn’t help but overhear them._

_“Njal and Mikkel were both there so that means that either the prince or Brunnhilde is hurt. And from the look on everyone’s faces, really hurt.”_

_Eir turned away, worry settling in her bones. Of course, Loki had to be one of the options. He couldn’t be a bystander, no, he was always in the middle of everything._

“Put him down here,” Dahlia instructed, pointing to an empty cot. Thor obliged, carefulling setting Loki down. Valkyrie and Bruce stripped the blood soaked sheets away as Eir came rushing over.

“Everyone out.” She stated firmly. The four teens left without another word, the Revengers stayed put.

“Need I repeat myself?” She asked them.

“You’re understaffed and Bruce and I have medical training,” Valkyrie told the healer, “We aren’t going anywhere.”

“And I do hate to use this as an excuse, but due to the dire situation, I’m going to pull the ‘I’m the king’ card.” Thor said, not budging. 

Eir narrowed her eyes at them for a split moment, biting her lip. “Oh alright.” She huffed. She didn’t have time for this.

The head healer leant over Loki to assess the injury. “We need to remove his tunic, grab me some shears.” She pointed to the cupboard closest to Thor. He nodded and handed them to her hastily. She cut it away as quick as she could, not bothering to salvage the garment. 

Eir stopped dead in her tracks, eyes widening. “Oh my.” She whispered, staring down at his chest. Valkyrie furrowed her brow, moving closer to see what Eir was making such a fuss of. Bruce and Thor followed suite. 

Brunnhilde felt her breath hitch.

Scars littered Loki’s body. His chest looked to be more marred flesh than not. He was much too thin and it wasn’t hard to see bruises where his ribs were. Even his arms were covered in them. Bruce had the sickening realization that tally marks were carved into his wrists. And beside the newest stab wound, was a large defined scar. It was huge and the unmistakable work of a large sword. 

“Oh fuck.” Valkyrie muttered, and for the first time in a while, shock was evident on her features. Thor stood still, staring with wide eyes, staring at the largest scar.

_“You fool, you didn’t listen!” Pleasedon’tdiePleasedon’tdiePleasedon’tdiePleasedon’tdie_

_“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”_

_“I will tell father what you did here.” yousavedmeyousavedmeyousavedmeyousavedme_

_“I didn’t do it for him.” silencesilencesilencesilencesilence_

_Nonononononononono **no** _

“-or! Thor!” The King snapped his head up to see Bruce’s face inches away. “Thor you need to sit down.” Bruce told him, guiding him to a cot. Thor turned his head to his brother, who looked to be stable, the wounds wrapped. He wondered how long he been spacing out.

“Goodness me child _sit down!”_ The thunderer craned his neck to see Eir trying to get Brunnhilde on a cot so she could tend to her wounds. Stubborn as ever, it seemed.

“Thor are you okay?” Bruce asked the king, eyes swimming with worry. 

“Yes,” He nodded slowly, “I was just… remembering something.”

xxx

The Revengers sat in silence. 

Valkyrie was propped up in her cot. A bottle of liquor in one hand. Said hands, were raw and red from repeatedly trying to scrub off the blood. Her injured collar was wrapped and there was a bandage on her cheek. Her hair was done up in a messy bun. She looked more tired than she had in a while, and that was saying something.

Bruce had dragged a bench in, along with Heimdall’s help of course, and had it propped up beside Loki’s bed. The scientist was sitting close to the younger prince, monitoring his condition. A book in hand for when everything was all accounted for. 

Thor was seated beside him, fast asleep. He was leaning over Loki’s bed. Chin rested on his arm while holding Loki’s hand. All of them were tired, that much was obvious. The only thing keeping Valkyrie awake was pure stubbornness. For Bruce, it was anxiety.

“It’s always him.” Valkyrie said, breaking the silence and making Bruce jump slightly. She had her eyes trained on Loki’s face.

She hated how small and fragile he looked. The image of the sword being wrenched from his chest kept replaying in her mind. The reminder of how much younger he was than her wouldn’t leave her alone. She felt sick, and it wasn’t from blood loss. Loki looked like a child. His pale skin was almost translucent under the fluorescent lights, accenting his sunken in cheekbones. He looked small. 

People liked to say that patients looked peaceful while unconscious, but Loki didn’t. He looked sad. And Valkyrie hated to think that might be the truth.

Bruce closed his book carefully, turning to look at her. “Hm?”

“Every time something happens,” She elaborated, “It’s always him.”

“Maybe that’s cause the fates hate me.”

Valkyrie and Bruce both snapped their heads around, turning to look at the youngest prince. He had his eyes scrunched and a grimace on his face, but he was awake nevertheless. Bruce smiled, letting out a breathless laugh. 

“Odin’s fucking beard Lackey,” Valkyrie grumbled, hopping off of the bed, “ You fucking asshole.”

“Is that a general assessment, or did I do something specific this time?” He rasped, knowing look in his eyes. 

“You got stabbed!” Valkyrie had to refrain from punching him on the shoulder.

“He was invisible.” Loki replied flatly, “I feel as if we’ve had this conversation before.”

“Yeah, right after it happened you twink.” She scoffed. Loki narrowed his eyes while Bruce laughed. 

“Brother?” 

Everyone looked down as Thor lifted his head from the cot, bleary eyed and blinking groggily. His eyes zeroed in on the trickster.

“Brother!” He exclaimed once more, resembling an overexcited puppy. Loki raised his arm in disgust.

“You drooled on me,” Loki said flatly, glaring at Thor. The thunderer only grinned. It took every bit of willpower he had to not engulf Loki in the worlds biggest hug. 

Loki grimaced as he set his hands down, trying to push himself into a sitting position. 

“Absolutely _not!_ ,” Eir cried, bustling into the infirmary, arms packed with new medical supplies. She set them down and walked over towards the cot, eyes narrowed at Loki.

“You lay back down right now!” She scolded, gently but firmly pushing him back into the bed, “Honestly, with how dramatic you are I firgured trying to get up would be the last of your concerns.”

Loki scoffed at her as his teammates laughed. Eir turned to them. 

“And you! The prince needs rest and relaxation. The three of you are anything but! Now shoo!” She chastised, ushering them out of the room while muttering to the norns. 

Loki chuckled lightly before laying his bed back into the pillow. As he closed his eyes he couldn’t help but think that the day hadn’t been half bad. Except for being stabbed, of course.

Maybe, just maybe, Loki was finally finding somewhere he fit in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what a nice way to end the chapter :)))))))))))))))))


	10. the brodinsons really suck at having conversations about feelings huh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sadness, sickness, and everything else horrible that I love inflicting on my favs :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its so late and im so tired so im hella sorry if theres any mistakes im just too tried to care :')
> 
>  
> 
> anygays sorry i suck at updating i just really hate my writing atm and end up deleting everything i type oops

“Brother,” 

Loki looked up from his book, pursing his lips together. Thor was at the foot of his cot, staring intently at him. The ugly lights in the medical bay gave everything and everyone an ugly yellow tinge. 

“We need to talk.”

“Well,” Loki said, shutting the book, “I believe we already are.” He rested his hands on his lap, folding them neatly.

Thor rolled his eyes. “Come now Loki, I’m serious.” 

Loki nodded, motioning for him to sit. The King obliged. The ugly bench Bruce and Heimdall had dragged in was still at his bedside. Loki hated it, the bench was truly an eyesore.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Thor playing with his hands idly and Loki growing more and more annoyed. He hated this, the way Thor acted when he was afraid of offending him. 

“Well?”

Thor sighed, biting his lip.

“...That day, the uh, the one with the dark elves. Where you uh-”

“Where I was stabbed.” Loki said flatly. Eyes drilling a hole into the back of Thor’s head. Thor nodded awkwardly. 

“Uh yes… Since I found out you were alive, I uh, I assumed you had been casting an illusion and I was, well I was rather mad at you, but um, but-”

“Yesterday you saw the scar.” Loki interrupted once more. Thor exhaled shakily. “Oh relax it wasn’t you who got stabbed.” 

Thor narrowed his eyes, but it seemed Loki’s snarky comments released at least a bit of tension in the room. 

“I’m sorry.” Thor admitted at last. “I’m sorry for just assuming you were lying I- I should have given you the benefit of the doubt.”

“You’re serious?” Loki asked, letting out a huff of air, “After everything I’ve done? You should have given me, _the benefit of the doubt?_ I’m going to be completely honest with you, a thing I _rarely_ am, if I were you, I’d never want to see my face again.” He let out an almost hysteric laugh. 

“Brother,” Thor started, “You’ve been pulling tricks on me since you were only a century old, if you think I haven’t learnt to love you despite all that you’re mad.” 

Loki let out a dry chuckle and Thor smiled wryly. 

“So…” Thor started after a small bout of silence.”Did you really…”

“Die?” Loki asked, the thunderer nodded.

“I’m not sure,” Loki admitted, “I remember being stabbed, you and Dr. Foster… and then I woke up… well I woke up alone.”

“Loki…” Thor started.

“The last thing I want is your pity.” Loki intervened. 

“Honestly Loki your pride will be the death of you-”

“Well three times _does_ make perfect,” Loki chimed in. Thor wondered how he could joke about something like that.

“It isn’t pity, it’s guilt.” He admitted, ignoring the mischief god’s quips. Loki’s eyes widened, albeit only slightly.

“Guilt?” The trickster mimicked, furrowing his brow. Thor looked down at the ground, as if the drab flooring was suddenly of great interest to him. 

“I- you got stabbed trying to save me and I, I left you there.” He mumbled, head still dipped. Loki almost laughed. 

“Thor, if my pride will be my third death, your unnecessary guilt will be your first.” The god of mischief sighed. Thor looked up. “What?”

“Honestly,” Loki shook his head, “You feel guilt for moth-Frigga’s death, you feel guilt for Odin’s death, both _my_ fault by the way.”

“Loki…” Thor started, eyes widening. He couldn’t argue with Odin’s death, Loki was at fault for that, but Frigga… That had been no one’s fault but the elves. And well- him. _If I had only gotten there sooner,_

“And you feel guilt for my ‘death’? Thor you mustn't fret so much, you’ll get worry lines.” Loki chided. Thor narrowed his eyes. 

“You know I came in here to talk to you, even possibly comfort you, but you’re the one reassuring me.”

“It’s what I do best,” Loki straightened out his back, letting an almost arrogant grin slip onto his face. Thor rolled his eyes.

“It is _not_!”

“Is too.”

“No!”

“If you’re so sure then why don’t you fight me?”

“I will _not_ fight you.”

“Why not? Is the King scared?”

“I am not scare- _you just got stabbed!_ ”

xxx

Loki was rather susceptible to illness. 

He always had been, if he was being honest with himself. Loki was pretty sure he had more memories of being sick on Asgard than not. 

He remembered watching the other children play outside happily from his bedroom window vividly. Memories of Odin scolding him for ‘faking it’ came along with those as well. Loki always hated that. Odin would always hand him a sword and shove him out into that absolutely horrid blistering sun and demand he continue his training. The only time Loki’d ever get rest was after he’d passed out. Frigga had put a stop to that rather fast, but Loki could still remember Odin’s look of disdain. 

And of course, getting stabbed through the chest just _had_ to make him even more vulnerable to diseases.

So here he was, sitting in a cot, in a plain ugly room, in a plain ugly ship, surrounded by tissues. Because the fates just hated him that much. 

“Woah looks like a warzone in here, what happened?” Bruce asked, walking into the room. 

“I don’t know why don’t you ask sniffles?” Brunnhilde asked from her cot. She shifted uncomfortably, the bandages on her collar were awfully itchy. Loki narrowed his eyes at her.

“It’s not like I _want_ to be sick. And besides it’s not that bad.” He countered, huffing.

“When you can pronounce it sick, and not thick, I’ll believe you.” She replied. Loki grumbled angrily while Bruce laughed. 

It was at that moment that Thor entered. 

“Still sick?” He asked, looking at the mess that was indeed his brother. 

“Well seeing as I only discovered my illness this morning, and sicknesses don’t just evaporate in a matter of hours, I’d say; yes brother dearest, I am ‘still sick’.” Loki hissed. Thor only grinned. 

“That sucks.” 

“Wh- Of course it ‘sucks’ you imbecile,” Loki growled, turning away from the three of them. 

“Loki angers extremely easily whenever he’s sick,” Thor only half-whispered to Bruce and Valkyrie.

“I do _not!_ ” Loki seethed. The other three couldn’t help but laugh.

“Just like how you don’t drool in your sleep?” Brunnhilde teased. Loki let out a loud huff as he turned to face them annoyedly. 

“I swear to Hel almighty, I do not-” Loki interrupted himself as a coughing fit overcame him. His eyes widened as the coughing only got louder and more violent. He didn't even have time to breathe in between the hacking.

“Oh fuck,” Valkyrie’s playful smile dropped. Both Bruce and Thor rushed over to the prince’s side. 

He was still wheezing, body literally lurching with each cough. Bruce put a tentative hand on his shoulder.

“Here,” The scientist handed him a glass of water once the fit had finally died down. They had just made a rather large trade with a certain market so water stock was one of their lesser concerns. Loki shook his head.

“I’m fine,” He insisted, but took the water all the same.

“You sure?” Brunnhilde asked him. He nodded firmly, throat aching. She rolled her eyes.

Gods how he hated being sick.

xxx

Valkyrie awoke to small muffled cries. 

Her eyes snapped open instantly as she rocketed into a sitting position. She hissed in pain, feeling her stab wound burn under the bandages. 

She’d been asked to stay in medical for one more night, partially for Eir to oversee her injury, but mostly so that she could keep watch over the injured and sick prince. 

“Lackey?” She whispered groggily, eyes bleary and filled with sleep. She rubbed them a couple of times and ran a hand through her hair. 

Another cry, this time louder and more frantic. 

Any part of her that had still been asleep woke after that. She swung her feet over the edge of the bed and rushed over to the cot a few feet away from hers. 

Loki was curled up tightly in a ball, fists clenched while tears streamed down his face. 

Her initial fear was the nightmare he was obviously caught in, but then her eyes shifted to the blood seeping through the bandages on his chest. Her eyes widened.

“No… please… _I’m sorry!_ ”

“Lackey!” She urged, shaking him gently, “Lackey wake up!” He was hot to the touch and she knew his fever had only intensified since that afternoon.

“ _No!_ ” 

Loki shot up, eyes opening wide in fear. In his disoriented state, he latched onto Valkyrie, wrapping his arms around her. 

Brunnhilde didn’t even question it. She returned the hug fiercely, burying her face into the top of his head, holding him close and running her hands through his hair.

Loki’s entire body shook with sobs. Each one wracking his tiny frame. 

“It’s okay, you’re safe.” She soothed, praying to every god that she was saying something right. She had never really comforted someone. In the back of her mind she knew she was bad at it, but it wasn’t the time to be worrying about it.

After Loki’s violent sobs had dissolved into sniffles, she pulled back so she could see his face. He looked absolutely horrible, pale and gaunt, a hollowness in his eyes. A part of her knew it wasn’t just the sickness.

“Better?” She whispered. Loki nodded solemnly. Valkyrie looked down at the blood soaked bandages.

“Shit.” She cursed.

“Wha’s goin on?” A sleep disoriented Bruce and Thor stepped into the med bay. Thor groggily flicked on the light switch. Bruce recoiled from the sudden light. 

“Brother?” The King asked, stepping closer to the cot. Valkyrie still had a tentative hand on Loki’s shoulder. 

“Thor…” The trickster murmured. 

“Are you okay? What happened?” A now more awake Bruce questioned. His curly hair was a mess and he was squinting harshly under the fluorescent lights, but concern was evident in his features. 

“Nothing,” Loki waved them off, “Apologies for waking you all.” He mumbled, avoiding eye contact and trying to hide his tear stained face. Bruce frowned. 

“Well _that_ hardly seems like nothing,” Eir cut in, stepping out of her quarters. Her eyes were staring pointedly at Loki’s chest. Both Thor and Bruce took a sharp intake of breath. 

“Come now,” Eir said, scurrying across the room, “Let me re-wrap that.”

“Loki-”

“Now’s really not the time, Thor.” Loki sighed. 

The only sound in the room was the cupboards and drawers opening and closing as Eir searched for clean bandages. Thor bit his lip. 

“Thor, we should go back to bed. You can talk to him in the morning.” Bruce put a hand on the King’s shoulder. 

“Yes yes, if you really think I’m letting any of you stay up any longer you’re wildly incorrect. Now shoo! You all need your rest.” Eir chastised as she chased the two out of the bay. Valkyrie watched as the woman turned to her, arms still full with healing supplies. 

“Back into your bed young one,” She said to her. Brunnhilde’s eyes flicked over to the prince. He looked to already be half asleep. His head was lolling and his eyes were half closed. Eir’s expression softened. 

“He’ll be fine dearie, just opened some stitches is all.” She smiled tiredly. Valkyrie nodded, turning back to her cot. It was only a few feet away but she still felt as though she was leaving him. 

Val fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. 

xxx

Things didn’t necessarily get better after that. 

Even after he recovered, Loki’s nightmares happened frequently. And it was often that one of the Revengers would spot a poorly hidden bruise of cut somewhere on the fallen prince, but he refused to speak anything of the matter. Any time his nightmares were brought up, he shut the person down immediately. 

They had to admit, Loki after a nightmare was definitely their least favourite Loki. He somehow looked… smaller, more like a child. He was so unlike himself. And they knew if he wasn’t absolutely terrified, there’d be no way in Hel he’d let himself be held like that.

Obviously, they were concerned, but pressuring Loki into telling them what was happening wasn’t exactly their first priority. So instead, they made sure to always be there when he woke up. To always comfort him.

And when it so happened that the one waking might have been Thor, with phantom pains in his eye that felt beyond real, or Brunnhilde, when Hela’s smiling face was just too hard to ignore, or even Bruce, when the memories of his childhood would come flooding back, Loki was there for them in return. 

It was an unspoken rule. They’d never discussed it, but they knew; if one of them were to wake in a panic, the others would be there for them.

And not a single one of them could deny, having their teammates there when they felt as if the world was crumbling at their feet, made them feel like everything might just be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen the revengers would be the best fucking family and they would love each other so fucking much and you can pry that fact from my cold dead hands I love them more than anything please


	11. fuckin uhhhhh,,,,, triggers oh no

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> three of loki's triggers and three times his team helped him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its been so lomg since i updated im gonna cry i missed u all so much :')))
> 
> im so glad to finally update this and even tho its lowkey highkey trash i just wanted to be able to post something bc !!! _i updated all my ongoing marvel fics today!!_ so if u follow any of the others i write def go check em out bc ive updated everything :0
> 
> enjoy yall!!!
> 
> also!! **tw: mentions of torture, along with panic attacks and noncon touching/assault**

**I.**

Loki loathed space. 

He absolutely despised it.

Nothing could take away his breath much like the sight of the stars. Nothing could make his chest seize quite like the vast galaxies did. 

And yet, he gravitated towards it. 

He found himself staring out towards it much too often, almost as if he craved it, as if the vast cosmos called for him. 

_Loki_ , it whispered, raspy voice chilling him to the bone. He swore he was sane, ( _Pleaseletmebenormalagain.Pleaseletmebenormalagain.Pleaseletmebenormalagain-_ ) but when the stars called his name, he listened. 

He heard their cries, resonated with them even. The skies, they wanted him, and he wasn’t sure just how long he could resist. 

There was no sound in the void. There was no concept of time in the void. There was nothing in the void. 

Nothing but stars. Nothing but space. 

“Loki?”

_Please No. Please Stop._

“Loki!”

_I don’t want to fall anymore. Please just end this. Please just end me._

“Loki look at me,”

_It’s so cold. I don’t want to be cold anymore. I don’t want to be alone anymore._

“Loki I’m right here, you’re not alone I’m right here.”

Loki’s head snapped up, tears still dripping down his cheeks.

Wide brown eyes met his panicked and disoriented gaze.

“That’s right, it’s okay. I’m here, you’re okay.”

The god couldn’t bring himself to do anything other than stare, still choking on a sob.

“Can I touch you?”

A nod.

Bruce placed a tentative hand on Loki’s shoulder, before mimicking his position and sitting with his back against the wall. He made sure to stay pressed against the god’s side.

The doctor grabbed Loki’s hand, squeezing it gently. 

“I’m right here.”

**II.**

It was stupid. So incredibly stupid, Loki wished he had been lucid enough to say so.

It was one tiny thing. It shouldn’t have horrified him so, but it did. 

Just a coincidence really, one horrid horrid coincidence. Valkyrie’s sword accidentally nicked Korg’s arm.

Everyone around flinched at the ugly noise, some even covering their ears, but for Loki it was so much worse.

Suddenly, he wasn’t on the ship. _He was tied to a table. Shackled at the wrist and ankles, large collar adorning his neck. It was dark and cold and everything ached. His whole body was on fire and yet it felt numb at the same time._

 __Suddenly, it wasn’t Valkyrie’s sword. _It was a Chitauri’s. Covered in the god’s blood and sickeningly sharp._

 __Suddenly, it wasn’t Korg’s arm. _It was the stone floors. The Chitauri soldier was dragging the sword across the floor, to instill fear in him._

There was a hand on his shoulder and he nearly fell over, flinching so violently that the hand retracted as if it had been burned.

He couldn’t see properly, couldn’t feel properly. Everything was confusing and he didn’t know where he was.

_Not back there. Not back there. Not back-_

“Lackey hey,” A voice said, almost as it was calling to him through murky water. He blinked a few times, swallowing thickly. 

“I don’t know where you think you are but you aren’t there okay? You’re on our ship, with Thor and Bruce and me, you aren’t there.”

Brunnhilde. Brunnhilde was there. She hadn’t been on _His_ ship. He wasn’t there. He wasn’t there. He wasn’t there.

Slowly, he relaxed, steadying his irregular breathing.

“Can I touch you now?”

He pursed his lips, nodding hesitantly, and felt her side pressed up against his. A rather large gesture for the both of them.

He looked down, brought to the ground by something as simple as sword on stone…

How pathetic.

**III.**

Losing Asgard was difficult. Difficult for everyone.

It was quite often that fights in between heartbroken civilians would break out, and sometimes thievery or other petty crimes. 

No one truly knew how to deal with the loss of their home. It was no surprise that some turned to alcohol to drown their sorrows. Perhaps of lost loved ones, or just the fear of change that drastic. 

It was past the citizens’ curfew when Loki ran into one of said Asgardians. 

All he had wanted was a cup of tea, perhaps with honey. Like Frigga used to make for him. He hated to say it but nothing could truly dull his anxieties like memories of his mother. 

Switching on the lights to the kitchen, he was surprised to find a man already sitting at the bar. 

His eyes widened slightly, already regretting leaving his quarters. The man and him made eye contact for a few seconds before;

“You shouldn’t be up.” Loki said plainly. The man laughed, rolling his eyes and taking a sip of the rather large bottle he had in his hands. The prince’s fingers twitched instinctively. 

“Neither should you sweetheart.” He replied, knuckles white as he gripped the bar counter with his left hand. Loki stood in the doorway for a few more moments, eyes narrowed.

“Perhaps I should go.” He mused, already itching to leave. The man waved his hand.

“Nonsense,” He said, taking a swig mid-sentence, “Just pretend I’m not here.” He suggested, looking at Loki in a strange manner. The trickster swallowed. 

“Alright then…”

They were silent for a few moments. Loki poured water into one of the mugs, fetching the herbs and honey from the cupboard. He carefully heated the water with his hands, gently stirring in everything else. 

Just as he was about to leave, he felt a rough hand grab his wrist. He froze, not quite sure how to react.

Loki set the tea down on the counter slowly, turning to look at the man. With one rough tug, he was in the man’s lap. He should have been able to get up, shove the man away, but suddenly it was all too familiar. 

“You know I always liked you better than your brother, sweetcheeks.” The man cooed, petting Loki’s hair. The prince was still frozen.

The pet names, the stroking, the closeness, the seductive purr, even the smell of Sakaarian alcohol, it was much too familiar. 

“I-”

“Shhh,” The man hushed, still smiling, “Don’t ruin this princess.”

Loki blinked and En Dwi’s eyes stared into his own. He felt bile rising at the back of his throat. 

“If you would please just-”

The grip around his wrist tightened so far that it hurt, and the fingers running through his hair entangled themselves within it. The man pulled his hair sharply. Loki’s chin tilted up towards the ceiling as he choked on a gasp.

“I said not to speak,” The man whispered, lips brushing against the prince’s jaw. Loki could feel his hands shaking, and his vision was slowly growing blurry as his breathing quickened. 

“Come on baby let’s go back to my quarters.”

All the trickster could bring himself to do was shake his head, breath quickening. 

“Don’t be like that,” The man purred, “I swear I’ll make it fun.” He reached for Loki’s tunic, slipping one hand up as the other still held his wrist tightly. 

“No,” Loki managed, shaking his head harder. The grip on his wrist grew even tighter. 

“What was that?” The man growled, and Loki could barely contain the violent flinch. Satisfied with the prince’s silence, he continued to stroke Loki’s chest, only seeming to enjoy Loki’s panicked state. 

The god couldn’t do this, he couldn’t. He had escaped the grandmaster but every part of his brain was screaming that the Sakaarian was the one touching him. 

Biting his lip to contain his grin, the Asgardian man removed his hand from Loki’s garments, and the Jotun thought that might have been the end.

His eyes widened when the man reached for the space between his legs. 

“ _No!_ ” He cried, suddenly renewed with energy as he thrashed in the man’s arms, “ _No!_ ” 

He fell off the stool and onto the floor, still fighting with every inch of himself. The man grabbed his arm roughly and used his other hand to cover Loki’s mouth. The both of them struggled on the ground. 

Without warning, Loki felt the man be violently ripped off. 

The next thing he felt were hands gently helping him into a sitting position. He looked up to see the concerned face of none other than Bruce Banner.

“Hello Bruce,” He choked out, trying to mimic their first conversation on Sakaar. The scientist laughed dryly.

“Hey,” He replied. He reached out slowly, and wiped the tears from Loki’s face. Loki hadn’t even known he’d been crying.

Looking over, he saw the man on the ground. Valkyrie was atop him, throwing punch after punch. She looked furious.

“That’s enough.” A voice said sternly. A large hand hoisted the beaten Asgardian from the ground harshly. Thor glared daggers at him before letting him fall once more. The man looked horrified.

“My King I-”

“Shut up.” Thor interrupted him. Loki tried to sniffle discreetly, but still saw both Valkyrie and Thor look over at him worriedly. He wanted to roll his eyes at the two but couldn’t help the relief that they had gotten there when they did.

“As punishment for threatening the life of royalty, you will be sentenced to imprisonment in one of the airlocks. Until we devise a plan for a proper prison, that is.” The king said harshly. All the man could do was stare in shock.

“But-”

“Enough.” He looked towards Valkyrie and she nodded, hoisting the man up. 

“Better hope I don’t accidentally push the release button.” She said in a sickeningly sweet manner as she dragged him away.

She returned moments later, empty handed. 

Both her and Thor made their way towards Loki and Bruce. 

“Brother are you okay-”

“I’m fine Thor.” He quipped, but smiled weakly at the older. Thor returned the gesture. 

“What happened?” Bruce asked, still looking rather shaken up.

“Yeah, normally you could mop the floor with a guy like that with just a look.” Valkyrie said, earning a glare from Thor. Loki almost laughed.

“He reminded me of someone I’d much rather forget.”

“Oh.”

Loki nodded, looking at them for a moment before turning to the side and emptying the contents of his stomach. 

Still, things could have been worse. 

He silently thanked the gods for the three before him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> will i ever give loki a break? absofuckinglutely not :D


	12. The Beginning of the End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is incredibly short, but I Really. wanted to move things along. I hope y'all don't hate me TOO much for hurting loki this much ;))

Valkyrie was almost asleep when it happened. 

Her consciousness was growing fuzzy, the soft appeal of the dreamworld calling out to her, when the prince to her left seized up. 

Initially she figured it could have been nothing, and sleep sounded _so_ good that she almost ignored it,

but then came the weezing, 

and the trashing, and the shaking. 

Like a bullet from a gun Brunnhilde shot up. Her head snapped to the side to see what all the commotion was about. It seemed Thor and Bruce had similar ideas. 

“Loki?” Bruce called, concerned but still half asleep. The only response he got was a choked gasp.

“Turn on the lights.” Valkyrie said, not able to see the distressed mage in the dark. The scientist obeyed, flicking the small switch. Loki was asleep, eyes shut forcefully and brows drawn downwards. His whole body writhed as though he was trying to escape something (or someone). 

For a split second, Brunnhilde believed it might have simply been a dream, and then came a strangled croak of anguish along with blood dribbling out from his nose and she knew it was no such thing.

Thor cursed loudly, already moving to Loki’s side. He grabbed the youngers’ hand, kneeling down. Valkyrie and Bruce made similar movements, hurrying to the bedside.

“Loki?” Bruce asked once more, eyes wide, “Loki can you hear me?”

“What the Hel’s wrong with him?” Valkyrie demanded, clenching her fists. 

“I don’t know,” Bruce muttered, searching all over for any possible injury. “I don’t know…”

Thor squeezed Loki’s hand once, eyes brimming with worry. “Loki you have to wake up,” He urged.

And as if he had heard the King, the prince went deathly still, and Brunnhilde feared the worst,

and then;

With a shuddering gasp, Loki rocketed into a sitting position. 

Hyperventilating still, he took huge gasps of air. His nose was still bleeding. 

“Loki?” 

With the most ruined and hollowed eyes they had ever seen, the trickster looked up at them, chest heaving. 

“The Mad Titan searches still.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really struggled with whether or not i was going to continue developing their relationship as a team or whether i was just going to full send and send thanos in and as u can see,, i fuckin full sent


	13. FIght!! DFight!! FIGYHT!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i mean,, did you really expect bRothers to get along forvere>>>/??/ absolutely not!!!!!!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have had,,, so muhc revengers inspo lately pls omg theyre my favourite team i just wanna squish their cheeks
> 
> i also got a revengers phone case and even tho i feel like a complete loser because of it i still pretend i'm the baddie b

“The Mad Titan searches still.”

The three who surrounded Loki sat in silence. Too stunned to speak, not knowing how to even reply to such a statement. 

Thor, who had been gripping Loki’s hand, now felt his brother’s vice like hold, as if he was clinging on for dear life. The king’s heart twisted.

Then, with all the elegance one could possibly muster in a situation like that, Loki let out a strangled noise akin to both a cough and a sob, leant to the side, and vomited blood all over the floor.

With that, his entire body went slack, his body slumped, head hitting Thor’s chest with a thump. 

“Loki!?” Thor grabbed his younger brother’s shoulders, holding the prince up in front of him. Loki’s head lolled limply, lips still stained crimson. 

“Fuck,” Valkyrie breathed, hands almost trembling, “ _Fuck!_ ”

Bruce swallowed thickly, tears brimming in his eyes. “Lay him down,” The scientist choked out, “On his side in case he throws up again.” 

Thor obeyed the instructions, carefully laying the smaller god down on the bed and brushing away a few stray hairs from his face. He looked so sickly, so fragile. Bruce felt like he might just be the next one to throw up. Inside the scientist, the monster was enraged. Enraged but confused. The green giant, much like the rest of them, didn’t understand just how Loki had become so ill in only a few moments. 

“What the fuck happened to him?” Brunnhilde whispered, staring at her prince’s body. Thor had gone to collect a few towels to clean the blood. Bruce shuddered as he checked Loki’s horridly weak pulse.

“I don’t know.”

***

They didn’t have long until Thanos arrived. 

Thor was trying desperately to find a way to evade him. Loki had told him that it was no use, that Thanos would find them no matter what they did.

They had Heimdall charting the best possible paths but even he couldn’t deny that the Titan may find them no matter which path they chose. 

They had much work to do, but Thor was sure that they could remove themselves from Thanos’ twisted game of chess.

“Loki? What are you doing here? You should still be in bed you-“ 

“I don’t think a walk will kill me, Thor.” The prince replied flatly, leaning on the doorframe. Thor was hunched over a desk, hundreds of rolls of parchment unfurled around him. He rolled his eyes fondly and waved Loki over. 

“So?” The thunderer asked, and Loki raised a brow, “How do you fare?” 

“As well as one can feel after vomiting up blood.” Loki replied bitterly, still upset about the whole affair. Thor couldn’t help but want to laugh. 

“Well assuming that’s better, I’m glad to hear it. We’ve all been hard at work these past few days.” 

Loki said nothing pursing his lips. 

“I’ve had Heimdall map out certain sections of our area and-“

“Thor.”

“-I’ve had Bruce trying to form a link with earth, probably Stark-“

“ _Thor._ ”

“-and I even have Brunnhilde on defences so in the case of an emergency- and I’m not saying there will be one but-”

“ _Thor!_ ”

Pale hands slammed themselves down onto the desk. Thor looked up to see Loki’s angry face. 

“Enough with this!” The prince seethed, “Stop acting like there’s something we can do!” 

“But brother…” Thor frowned, “We can do something-”

“ _No we can’t!_ ”

There was a silence, and Thor could see how distressed Loki was. The trickster’s hands were shaking, his skin practically translucent in the yellowish lighting. 

“There’s nothing we can do.” Loki whispered. He hugged himself tightly as he looked away, “Please stop trying to fight what’s already been decided… You look like a fool.” 

Thor narrowed his eyes, standing from the desk.

“I look like a fool?” He demanded, “I look like a fool for trying to save what’s left of our people? I look like a fool for trying to save us? For trying to save Brunnhilde? Bruce? You?”

“For Odin’s sake yes, Thor!” Loki whirled around, face cold and angered. “You look like a fool for trying to save our people when there’s no point! You look like a fool now and you’ll still look like a fool when Thanos decimates what’s left of our realm without so much as raising his hand!”

The brothers stood silently, jaws set as they stared at each other. 

“Well I’d rather try my damndest than sit back and watch our family die.”

The King of Asgard walked out without another word, leaving Loki alone in that suffocatingly cold and silent room.

***

“I hate this! How did you win again!?” 

Brunnhilde groaned loudly, almost slamming her face into the table in the lounge. Bruce rolled his eyes. 

“Thumb wars aren’t about strength, Val.” He replied, small smile upon his face. She shook her head.

“No way, they’re just tiny arm wrestles, it’s _all_ about strength.” 

“Not if you play them right.” 

Valkyrie took a second to glare at the scientist, and considered sticking her tongue out at him. It certainly wouldn’t have been the most immature thing she had done. 

“Wanna go again?” Bruce grinned, raising his thumb confidently. She rolled her eyes. 

“Fine.” She grumbled, linking their hands. 

It was then that Thor walked into the lounge. Or perhaps stormed is a better way to phrase it. 

“Hey,” Brunnhilde nodded her head in greeting, “What’s got you so broody?” She questioned, watching as Thor practically burnt a hole in the floors, his ears could have been producing smoke he looked so angered. 

“I’m not _broody_.” He retorted, arms crossed. 

“Uh, yeah, you are. Come sit.” She patted the chair beside her and Bruce. He made his way over begrudgingly, saying nothing.

The three sat in silence for a few moments. Valkyrie shared a look with Bruce. 

“Would you like to talk about it?” She asked finally.

“No.”

“Alright, got it… apologies…”

Thor sighed loudly, putting his head in his hands. 

“I’m sorry,” He apologized, “I’m being… What does Stark say, Bruce? A Dick?” He looked over at the scientist. Bruce chuckled softly, nodding his head. 

“It’s just… Norns! Loki has been acting so immature as of late! I can’t deal with him!” The king threw his hands up in the air, obviously frustrated. 

“I think a part of you knows that’s just how he is.” Brunnhilde reasoned. 

“Still,” Thor continued, “He told me I looked like a fool today. And not just for any reason. For trying to save us! He wants me to just lay down and accept defeat! I can’t do that! I’m King! You think fa-Odin would have just let this so called Mad Titan decimate our kingdom? Of course not…”

Valkyrie frowned looking at Bruce. The human pursed his lips. _Go_ He mouthed, _I’ll stay here._

She nodded, standing up from her seat quietly and exiting the room. 

“Odin’s beard,” Thor shook his head, “Now I sound immature as well, don’t I?”

“Yes and no.” Bruce replied, scooting closer to the god. Thor glared at him, earning a laugh from Bruce.

“You told me you prefer when I’m honest with you!”

“That’s true…” Thor sighed, resting his head on the cool metal of the table once more. Bruce smiled softly. 

“You have reason for being upset, Thor. It’s just, did you ever think about _why_ Loki’s so upset by the idea of you fighting Thanos?”

The thunderer craned his neck to look at the scientist.

“He’s worried about you, Thor.” Bruce continued. “Think about it. This is the guy who resurrected him, earned his trust, betrayed that trust, _tortured_ him, and used an entire infinity stone on him! _None_ of us know what we’re up against, but Loki does. It’s not a pretty thought, but he owned Loki. No one knows what Thanos is capable of better than him.” 

Thor looked at him, obviously thinking hard. 

“He doesn’t want us to die.” Bruce said softly. “He might not ever actually say it to our faces, but you know it’s true. He’s already accepted defeat, and I know we haven’t, but he has.”

“Loki doesn’t have anything left to lose except for us, and he’s convinced he’s going to.”

***

She found him in the storage hangar. Legs drawn up to his chest and chin resting on his knees. 

“Hey.” She greeted gruffly, sitting down beside him with a huff. He looked her way, but said nothing. 

“Woah, calm down. No need to be so chatty.” She joked, earning a half-hearted glare from the prince beside her, but still, not a word. She bit the inside of her cheek. 

“You know I heard about you and Thor’s fight.”

He didn’t react. 

“You know, you can’t just insult him and expect him not to get annoyed with all your melodramatic bullshit.” 

He replied something, voice muffled by his forearms. 

“What was that?” 

“ _I said_ ,” Loki lifted his head, “I know.” He repeated 

“So if you know, why’d you do it?” She questioned, leaning on him. He didn’t answer. 

“Fine.” Valkyrie huffed. “We don’t have to talk it out teammate to teammate, but I _do_ know what we could do instead.”

He looked over at her, a curious glint in his eyes. “And that is?”

She grinned, “Get shitfaced at a bar together.”

“Not a completely horrid idea,” He mused, and she muttered a small sarcastic thanks, “But the bar on this ship is quite literally the last place I’d like to be at this moment.”

“I never said it had to be the bar on this ship?” She replied, still grinning. He quirked a brow at her.

“Do you have some other gigantic refugee filled ship I was unaware of?” He asked dryly. 

“No,” Brunnhilde denied, shoving him, “But I do happen to know that we’ll be docking on some planet for a supplies refill very soon.”

Loki let out a humoured exhale, smiling slightly. 

“That doesn’t sound too horrible.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am : going to see endgame tomorrow and i am TERRIFIED   
> like i deadass could not be more horrified at the prospect of loki not coming back or tony or thor dying and like,,,, deadass not enjoying the idea of losing anymore of my favs,,,
> 
> when loki died i saw IW on a friday and deadass didnt go to school on that monday ebccuase i swas still So. Upset. over it
> 
> ALSO PLEASE DOMR LEAVE SPOILERS FOR ENDGAME IN THE COMMENTS IM NOT GKNNA EVEN CHECK UNTIL AFTER I SEE THE MOVIE BC PEOPLE R DICKS BUT STILL !!!! DONT B A DICK U GUYS!!! Tony Stark would Not. be impressed with all of you leaking footage and other shit >:((((


	14. this is NOT how our bonding session was supposed to go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> maybe sleazy bars ARENT all that trustworthy....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> at this point i cant even apologize for hurting him,,,, it just ,,, Happens.

The ship docked, and both the Valkyrie and the second prince were gone the second it touched ground. 

They wove through crowds of people, trying their best not to brush against the meaner looking aliens. Loki grumbled as he squeezed through a particularly tightly woven group of stragglers. He glared at his companion as he blew a stray strand of hair from his face. 

“Do you have any clue where you’re headed?” He demanded, carefully dodging a puddle of god knows what. 

“Of course I do,” Brunnhilde scoffed, grabbing his arm and roughly pulling him closer to her, “now come on, we’re almost there.” She told him, quickening her pace and disappearing within the crowd. Loki took a deep breath and followed begrudgingly, only to realize he had already lost sight of her.

He had to look over the people to find her. Sadly, being as short as she was, her head of dark hair was practically impossible to find. He concentrated for a moment, before locking onto her with his seidr. 

She turned around expectantly when he finally met up with her. She was standing outside the door of a shawty looking establishment.

“What took you so long?” She muttered, crossing her arms. 

“You ran away.” He replied flatly, not at all amused. 

“I did not _run away_ ,” She repeated indignantly, “I’ll show you running away-”

“Oh enough,” Loki groaned, stepping closer to her. “We could go on forever with this bickering.”

“True,” Brunnhilde admitted, grinning slightly. “Now come on, let’s go get shitfaced.” She opened the door and waited expectantly for him to enter. 

No one, not even the bartender, spared them so much as a glance as they stepped in. Loki appreciated it. There weren’t many places he could step into without being stared at, but he supposed a place like so had all sorts of people coming in and out. He followed Valkyrie to the corner of the bar. 

“Sit down, I’ll get us drinks and then you can tell me all about your little spat with brother dearest.”

“I do wish you wouldn’t word it like that.” The prince sighed. 

“Yeah well, we can’t get everything we want in life.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “Now what drink do you want?” 

“Anything’s fine.” He replied, sitting down at the booth. 

“Alright then. Be back in a tick.” 

Loki didn’t even acknowledge her as she walked away. She leant over the bar, smiling at the bartender. He was a burly fellow, hairy arms and bushy beard to add onto it. 

“Could I get your strongest drink and then whatever’s mediocre for tall dark and angry back there?” She asked, nodding back at Loki as she mentioned him. The bartender laughed.

“Sure can.” He replied, smiling at her. He turned back to where the glasses were kept.

“So, what’s with your friend’s getup?” He asked as he prepared the drinks, “He a magician or something?” 

“Sorcerer, actually… I think.” Valkyrie answered. “I’ve never cared enough to ask.” 

“Sorry, sorcerer then. I’m not too familiar with all that magic mumbo jumbo.” He laughed once more. “I take it from your lack of knowledge you’re not one of them?”

“Nope,” She shook her head, “Just him.”

The bartender finished their drinks in silence, still smiling as he handed them to her. 

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” 

Loki looked up from whatever he had been doing as she returned. She sat down and slid his drink over to her. 

“You’re getting the next round.” She told him. “That bartender guy gives me the creeps.” 

Loki rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his drink. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Brunnhilde decided to speak again. 

“You wanna talk about it yet?”

“What part of no don’t you understand?” He asked her flatly. 

“Most of it.” She shrugged, taking a large swig from her glass.

They made amble conversation after that, mostly insulting each other, as usual. As Loki spoke, Brunnhilde took a second to realize just how far they had come since Asgard’s demise. Their first few weeks, she either couldn’t look at him or couldn’t _stop_ looking at him. The guilt of handing him over to the grandmaster had been too overwhelming, but now, now it was so much more different than she could have ever expected. She actually _cared_ about him. Sure, she saw herself growing close to Thor and Bruce, but Loki? She’s not sure even Heimdall saw it coming. 

Months ago, she never would have agreed to go out for drinks with the prince, nevermind be the one to suggest it. 

In all honesty… She still couldn’t believe it. 

She was pulled from her thoughts as she realized Loki had gone silent. She frowned. 

“Hey,” She grabbed his arm and he looked up at her. 

“I… I think something’s wrong.” Was all he said in reply. 

Brunnhilde stood abruptly, walking over to his side of the table. She kneeled at the seat of the booth, cupping his cheek and turning his head so that he was looking at her. 

Fuck.

She had seen this hundreds of times. Both on Sakaar and many other planets. Dread pooled in her stomach as she watched Loki’s eyes. He had been drugged. 

She was up immediately, hands on his shoulders. “Come on,” She urged. “We’re getting out of here.” 

The prince stumbled as he stood, and Valkyrie had to steady him with both arms. As they exited the bar, she could feel the bartender’s eyes on them. A shiver ran down her spine.

_It had to have been him. There’s no one else._

Loki was becoming more and more disoriented. He could barely stand, leaning against her heavily as they walked. She couldn’t think about the bartender now, she just needed to get back to the ship. 

“That’s it,” She encouraged, one hand around his waist. “One step at a time. There we go.” 

Someone from the crowd of aliens bumped them roughly. Brunnhilde let out an abrupt cry as the two of them fell to the ground. By then, Loki had become completely unresponsive. His eyes were glazed over and he wasn’t even making an effort to stand.

“Fuck,” Valkyrie breathed, getting to her hands and knees before turning to the prince. She pulled him so that he was sitting up. 

“Come on your majesty,” She whispered, holding his face in her hands. “Come on…” 

She frantically pushed the hair out of his face, staring into his unresponsive eyes and practically _begging_ the norns for a miracle. 

There was a sudden boot on her back and her face met the ground once more. She growled, pushing herself back up and whirling around. 

The bartender stood before her, two other men and a woman behind him. Valkyrie looked over to Loki’s slumped form. She moved in front of him protectively, glaring at the four aliens. 

“Aw,” The lankiest alien cooed, “How cute.” 

Brunnhilde drew her sword, “Now I know why you creeped me out.” She said through gritted teeth. The bartender had the audacity to laugh. 

“I really am sorry to do this, love.” He replied. “But we’ve got to make a living somehow.”

“What, your shady bar isn’t enough?” She demanded, watching each and every one of them defensively. 

“To be blunt,” The shortest started, “No. It’s not.” 

That was when the bartender attacked. He lunged at her, not bothering to use a weapon, just throwing punch after punch. She kicked him back with a grunt and slashed at his legs. With another kick he was on his back. 

She turned just in time to block the short man’s sword. With a grand push, he was forced to jump back. 

“So you want money but you aren’t going to take me too? That’s a bit rude.” She muttered, jamming the hilt of her sword into the lanky man’s windpipe. He fell to the ground with a gasp. 

There was a whooshing sound behind her and a sudden hand on her cheek. 

“Oh honey,” The woman pouted, her green skin looking rather blue in the streetlight. “Are you offended?” 

Valkyrie swung her sword, but the woman warped out of existence a moment too fast. 

“Don’t worry,” The woman said, appearing out of nowhere and kicking Brunn roughly. “You’re still a catch darling… You’re just… not a sorcerer catch.”

Oh. 

They were traffickers. _Sorcerer_ traffickers. 

The woman, who seemed to be able to teleport… or something like that, was suddenly crouched at Brunnhilde’s feet. The latter had no time to stop her from kicking her down. Valkyrie stood and pressed her blade against the woman’s throat.

“Ah ah ah~” A voice sang from behind her. She turned around, still holding her blade to the alien’s  
throat. 

The bartender was standing right beside Loki’s limp body. Brunnhilde felt bile in her throat when she saw that his eyes were still wide open. He still wasn’t unconscious, just drugged.

The second prince was slumped against a wall in a sitting position, head tilted and resting on his shoulder.

“Let Killia go.” The alien man ordered as he knelt down. With one of his large hands, he grabbed the top of Loki’s head and turned it manually so that he could stare the god in the eyes. He took out a blade and pressed it against Loki’s throat.

“You hurt him and I’ll kill you!” Valkyrie snarled. “I’ll kill you I swear!” 

“Let. Her. Go.” 

Brunnhilde let out a shaky breath, but held the woman still.

The bartender said nothing, pressing the blade harder, drawing a small amount of blood. Val felt her heart drop.

“ _Okay!_ Just don’t hurt him.”

“Don’t hurt him.” Her voice cracked as she spoke, betraying her calm looking demeanour. 

The bartender waited expectantly, watching her closely as he kept the blade against Loki’s throat.

Valkyrie let go of the woman, pushing her for good measure. That seemed to satisfy the Alien as he withdrew his dagger.

“Grab her.” He said gruffly, pushing Loki’s body down to help push himself up. 

Valkyrie didn’t even have time to register the two men behind her before they were tightly gripping her arms and legs. She spat curses that would have Bruce red in the face as they did it.

“What should we do with her?” The woman trafficker asked, holding down Brunnhilde.

“Lock the both of em in one of the rooms until the ship gets here.” The shortest said. “That way she can’t run for help until we’re gone.” He grinned sickeningly at her. 

The thinnest pulled her onto her feet, and she struggled vigorously. The trafficker growled at her and struck her in the side. 

She looked back at Loki panickedly to see the other three beside him.

“Try and hit me again and we’ll cut his pretty little head off.” The alien whispered menacingly into her ear.

The woman, Killia, grabbed Loki’s wrist forcefully. “Let’s go.” She grinned. 

Brunnhilde felt her heart clench when she saw Killia dragging Loki behind her, like some inanimate object. His head was hanging limply, dark locks covering his face. 

“You’re not even going to carry him?” The Valkyrie hissed, feeling more and more sick to her stomach as each second passed.

“A small girl like me, holding a big strong mage like him?” Killia asked, a sickeningly sweet smile on her face, “I don’t think so darling.”

With that, they continued walking. Valkyrie spent the entire march trying to calculate a way to fight her way out. She kept looking to Loki, wishing that the drugs would somehow fade, but they didn’t.

Eventually, they reached a sleazy back alley. Killia dragged Loki’s body over to one of the backdoors, opened it, and tossed him in. The trafficker didn’t even bother to put him down, no, she _threw_ him.

_Small girl my ass._

The skinny one pushed the Valkyrie towards the door next. She growled at him, but obeyed nonetheless. He shoved her forcefully inside, causing her to stumble slightly, before he slammed the door shut and bolted it tight.

The room was almost like a cell. There was nothing in it and the only opening was the door, which was closed. So, yes never mind, it _was_ a cell.

Straightening immediately, she whirled on her heel and began to pound her fists against the door, cursing profoundly… She got no response, unsurprisingly. Sighing, she turned back around.

Loki was sprawled out facedown on the ground, no doubt still laying the way he had landed when Killia threw him.

“Shit,” She cursed, dropping to her knees. She turned him over, pulling him onto her lap. His eyes were still dazed and he looked completely unaware.

_Just what kind of drug did they have to use to sedate him this bad?_

It had to have been some sort of paralytic drug, something that kept him from moving. 

Brunnhilde pulled the both of them over so that they were leaning against the wall. She clasped his two hands together tightly.

“It’s okay,” She whispered, not expecting a response, “We’re okay.”

She prayed to the Norns that someone would find them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some of yall are bout to be real mad at me, but it must be said
> 
> i am SAD about loki. okay i KNWO i should be grateful that he's confirmed alive in an alternate timeline where he takes the space stone,,, but yall,,,, YALL,,,, we fuckin lost the revengers because of that,,, my babies,,, my cinnamon apples,,,,,, IM SO SAD OKAY HTHE REVENGERS WERE ALL I HAD


End file.
